


Falling in Love in London

by CaptainKrazy



Category: Tom Hiddleston - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-23 07:54:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 50,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9647060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainKrazy/pseuds/CaptainKrazy
Summary: Lizzy has waited a lifetime to go to London. When she finally gets there she meets a very nice man, that just happens to be Tom Hiddleston.





	1. **Welcome to London**

**Author's Note:**

> This was my FIRST EVER fic. I just started writing it one night as I was laying in bed, then I discovered Wattpad and posted it there. It was originally just 4 chapters long. Not long after I finished it I started using Tumblr and eventually delved into the world of smut, then I started a sequel that ended up being 11 chapters long. 
> 
> When I started posting this story on my tumblr I considered adding smut to it but it never felt right so I just kind of hint at it. The chapter titles are from when I posted it on Wattpad.

**_“Now boarding all rows for flight 698, Non-stop to New York at gate 19A”_ **

As Lizzy made her way down the jet way she couldn’t believe she was _finally_ on her way to London, with a layover in New York, 14 hours from now she would be there; Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, and more. Years of saving, waiting, and wanting, and it was _really_ happening. The Flight to New York was okay but the layover was a bit of a hassle, it was only supposed to be a 2 hour layover, but her fight to London was delayed on the runway another 2 and a half hours due to weather issues. By the time she landed in London, went through customs, got her luggage and took a cab to her hotel she was _more_ than ready for a hot bath and a soft bed. 

When she stepped out of her cab she was amazed by the beauty of the hotel, the pictures online didn’t do it justice; White brick with black wrought iron fences surrounding the balconies on the upper floors, each one with its own planter box full of beautiful and colorful flowers. A red canopy with a scalloped edge shaded the large french doors and marble entry way, there were large topiaries on both side of the doors. She couldn’t wait to see the inside of the hotel, she grabbed the handle of her suitcase and turned toward the door. As she stepped up onto the curb she felt a thud against the left side of her body. It took her a moment to realize that she was now on the ground, the contents of her purse scattered around her.

‘Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you!’ said a man’s voice ‘Let me help you’

‘No, that’s alright. It was probably my fault. I wasn’t really paying attention.’ Lizzy said as she gathered the items from her purse ‘I think the jet lag coupled with the beauty of the hotel left me a little out of sorts.’

‘Yes, it is a beautiful hotel’ he replied ‘Here. Let me help you up.’ 

Lizzy looked up and saw his outstretched hand in front of her.  
  
‘Thank you’ she said as she slipped her hand into his, his long, slender fingers wrapping around her own. Once she was standing she couldn’t help but notice how tall he was, at least 6’2. He was wearing a grey hoodie; with the hood up, sunglasses, black running shorts and running shoes.

‘You’re Welcome’ he said as he handed her her purse. ‘Welcome to London. Enjoy your stay.’ 

She was about to thank him again but he had already left to continue his run. She again grabbed her suitcase and headed for the door. Once Lizzy was inside the hotel what had just happened was all but forgotten. The beauty of the lobby had her mesmerized, it was all beyond her imagination. Beautiful crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, large bouquets of flowers were on every table. There was a sitting room just off the lobby that had a huge fireplace, a piano, and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Across from the sitting room was the hotels Tea Room. She could see the quaint tables set with beautiful porcelain cups and saucers, and trays with small sandwiches, cakes, and cookies on them. 

She made her way to the desk to check in, a lovely woman named Karen took care of her and told her that if she needed anything the hotel would be glad to help. When Lizzy opened the door to her room her jaw dropped, the room was exquisite; the carpet was cream with a gold pattern woven through it, there was a large oak armoire that held a small T.V. On one side of the room there was a small sofa, coffee table and a couple armchairs, on the other was a desk with stationery, pens and a phone. The bed was a beautiful queen size bed with 4 posts with soft flowy fabric draped on them. The bedding was a soft peach with little rosettes embroidered on.

Lizzy had every intention to take a bath before she rested but as soon as she saw the bed all she could think was _SLEEP_! She walked directly to the bed, kicking her shoes off along the way, pulled back the covers and crawled in. She ended up sleeping for about 4 hours, when she woke she stretched her arms and legs as she stood and walked over to her suitcase to get her toiletry bag. After her shower she decided to go for a stroll to see a little of the city she had waited so long to see.

It was almost 5.30p when Lizzy stepped out of the hotel. She didn’t have a plan on where she was going she just picked a direction and started walking. The only thing she knew for sure was that she was hungry and decided to find something to eat. She walked a few blocks until she found a little café that had a tasty looking menu hanging outside. When she finished her dinner she walked around a little more, looking through the windows of the shops she passed along the way. After about an hour of wandering she headed back to her hotel. As she walked through the lobby toward the elevator she heard someone call out to her, she turned to see Karen, the woman that checked her in, walking toward her,

‘Miss Walker. This package arrived for you while you were out.’

‘For me? Are you sure??’ she asked, wondering who would have sent her anything.

‘Yes, it arrived by messenger about an hour or so ago, along with a note that said that it belongs to the American woman that arrived this morning. You’re the only American to arrive today’ Karen answered with a smile.

‘Um…. Thank you’ Lizzy said as she took the box and proceeded to the elevator. 

As she walked from the elevator to her room she heard her phone ring and began to dig in her purse for it but couldn’t find it. When she got into her room she dumped her purse out on the bed to look for it. As she was looking she heard the tone her phone makes when she has a voicemail, she glanced at the package she just received and realized it came from there, she opened the box and found her phone inside, along with a note

 

> _‘Hello,  
>  I am returning your phone. I must have accidently picked it up after I ran into you earlier today. I would like to apologize for that again, it was entirely my fault. I tend to zone out while running._
> 
> _I really hope you enjoy your time in London._
> 
> _Cheers,  
>  -T’_

She thought that it was very sweet of him to return her phone. When she looked at the screen she had a bunch of missed calls and texts, mostly from her Mom.  
_‘Oh boy! She must be really worried if she’s texting’_ Lizzy thought to herself. She immediately called her back to ensure her that she was alright. When they finished speaking Lizzy started to put her clothes away so she wouldn’t have to dig through her suitcase for the duration of her trip. Once she was done she could feel herself start to get tired again and climbed back into bed.

As the sun rose on a new day in London so did Lizzy. After a quick breakfast at the hotel it was time to set out and really see the city. Her first stop wasn’t too exciting, a little shop near the hotel for a couple bottles of water, and a map of the city. Now for the real first stop, The Tower of London. The tour was great, when her group got to the Crown Jewels the image of Moriarty dancing while holding a fire extinguisher popped into her head and she let out a laugh. An elderly couple glared in her direction and she mouthed _‘sorry’_ as the tour left the room. Once the tour ended she took a bunch of pictures outside before heading to her next destination. Buckingham Palace. According to her map it was only about 5km (3mi) away. 

As she walked along the streets she enjoyed looking at all of the beautiful buildings and charming shops. Her walk also took her along part of the River Thames and she was able to get some great pictures of the London Eye, she made a mental note to go there sometime in the next few days. When she got to the palace there was a sign that stated that tours would not be held for the next couple of days. She snapped some pictures of the Palace and some of the Guardsmen before she left. As she started walking away her stomach started to growl, she glanced at her watch, it was already after 4 and she realized she hadn’t had anything since this morning. She walked a little longer until she found a nice little restaurant not far from the Palace.

Lizzy sat at her table, looking through the pictures on her camera and nibbling on her food. Just as she was about to take another bite she heard someone say something

‘Are you enjoying you trip so far??’ surprised, she jumped in her chair a bit ‘Oh, dear. Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you!’ 

She looked up and saw a man standing there. It took her a moment to realize that it was the same man from yesterday morning.

‘That’s alright. Um, yes. I am enjoying it. London is beautiful.’ she replied, as she set down her fork ‘Oh! And thank you for returning my phone, that was very nice of you.’ she added.

‘You’re more than welcome. I know I would probably be lost without mine.’ He said with a slight chuckle and smile. As he stood there holding a drink she couldn’t help but stare at him. He had on a dark green shirt, black jeans, dark brown boots, a light weight jacket and baseball cap. The hat was casting a slight shadow on his face, but she could see his smile. It was beautiful, infectious, and somehow familiar.

‘Actually, I didn’t notice it was gone. All the excitement I think.’

‘First time in London?’ he asked

‘First time anywhere really. My parents weren’t too big on travel.’ It suddenly dawned on her that he had been standing this entire time. ‘ _Oh!_ I’m sorry, would you like to have a seat?’ she said as she motioned to the other chair at her table. 

The smile on his face grew a little larger, and she felt one on her own, as he reached for the chair. She couldn’t believe she just invited a complete stranger to join her, she had never done anything like that before. But there was something about him, he seemed very nice.

‘So. You never went on any trips as a kid?’ he asked as he sat.

‘Well, we went on road trips, visit family in other states, and we went to Disneyland a couple of times. But we never went anywhere that required a passport. I just got mine a few months ago. London is my first stamp’ she answered.

‘What made you decide on London?’

‘I’ve just always wanted to come here’ she said as she pushed what was left on her plate around with her fork ‘I guess _Doctor Who_ and _Sherlock_ might have played a small role in the decision. You know, see the places where some of the scenes were actually filmed’ she added.

‘Well, you’re in luck. No Dalek sightings at Canary Wharf recently’ he said with a laugh. She really liked the sound of his laugh, it was beautiful…. and also slightly familiar. She realized she hadn’t introduced herself yet, just as she was about to tell him her name his phone began to ring. He pulled it from his pocket and checked the screen, ‘Oh, sorry. I have to take this, pardon me for a moment’

‘Of course’ she replied. He stood and walked a few paces away to take the call. She couldn’t help but glance at his butt as he walked away. He was gone for about a minute before he came back to the table. She hoped he hadn’t noticed her looking at his bum.

‘Um, I’m sorry, I have to go. Something’s just come up’ he said when he returned.

‘That’s alright, I should probably be heading back to my hotel soon anyway’ Lizzy said, trying not to sound disappointed.

‘It was nice talking to you, enjoy the rest of your trip’ he said.

‘Thank you. It was nice talking to you too’

He smiled, turned and set his glass on the bar, he then walked out the door. She watched as he haled a cab and climbed in, and then he was gone. During her own cab ride back to her hotel she kept thinking about how beautiful his smile was and his voice, it was warm, kind, sweet, and very sexy. She also couldn’t help but think it was somewhat familiar too, but she just shrugged it off. 

She also couldn’t help but wonder _why_ he seemed to be interested in her. She never considered herself attractive, she stood just about 5’7, had brown eyes and brown shoulder length hair with some blond highlights, and she weighed about 240lbs. She had never had _much_ luck in the love department.

‘ _OH STOP LIZZY!_ He wasn’t _interested_ , he was just being _nice_ ’ she said quietly to herself.

When Lizzy got back to her hotel she took a shower, threw on her pj’s and grabbed her map, a notebook, and the _A-Z Guide to London_ she got that afternoon on her walk, and sat down on the bed to make a list of places to go and things to do over the next few days. She lost all track of time until her hotel room phone rang and startled her, she glanced at the clock on the nightstand as she reached for the phone. It was just after 9p.

‘Hello?’

_‘Miss Walker, this is Miles at the front desk. Sorry to bother you but there is someone here to see you.’_

‘Who?’

_‘He didn’t give his name, but did say that he returned your phone yesterday’_

‘Oh. Um. I’ll be right down’ she replied.

 _‘He’s waiting in the sitting room’_ Miles added.

Lizzy thanked him and hung up the phone. She then quickly threw on the clothes she had on earlier and headed for the door. As she rode the elevator down she wondered why he was here. When she got to the sitting room he was standing near the bookshelves, his back toward the door.

‘Hi’ she said, slightly nervous, and he turned to face her. He wasn’t wearing his hat this time and she could see his face a little better now. The first thing she noticed were his eyes, beautiful blue-green eyes that seemed to sparkle. She also noticed the smile that was suddenly on his face. His face. That still seemed so very familiar but she still couldn’t seem to place.

‘Hello again. I’m sorry to bother you so late, I hope I didn’t wake you, but I didn’t get a chance to ask you something earlier’ he said cheerfully 

‘It’s no bother. What did you want to ask me?’ Lizzy replied as she walked further into the room

‘I was wondering if you might like to have dinner with me tomorrow night?’

‘eh…….’ was the only sound, if you could call it that, she managed to make, it took her a few moments to finally say something, ‘Um…. Can I ask you something first’

‘Yes, of course’

‘Who are you? I mean, what;s your name?’

‘Oh….My name is Tom’ he said with a chuckle as he extended his hand to her ‘Tom Hiddleston’

‘Nice to meet you Tom. My name is………’ Lizzy stopped just as her hand met his. “T…Tom……Hid…Hiddleston? As in _Loki of Asgard_ Tom Hiddleston?!’ she said shocked and confused.

‘Ehehehehe…….Um, yeah. One and the same I’m afraid. Is that okay?’

‘Okay…. Yeah….. You’re fine. I mean…. _It’s_ fine. Everything’s fine.’ Lizzy looked down, she was still holding his hand, and her knees suddenly became weak. 

 _This is a dream! It has to be_ , Lizzy thought to herself. There is no way in hell that she not only did she not recognize the beautiful Tom Hiddleston, _but_ that he was here now…. asking _her_ out!

‘Uh… I think I need to sit down.’ They sat in silence for a few minutes before Lizzy finally said something.

‘Is this real? Are you really here?? I’m dreaming right?’

‘No, you’re not dreaming, I’m really here, I _really_ would like to have dinner with you tomorrow night’ Tom answered ‘And I would also like to know your name.’

‘My name, yes, sorry. My name is Elizabeth Walker, Um…. Lizzy’

‘Well Miss Walker, it’s a _pleasure_ to meet you’ he said with a big smile. She felt her cheeks get warm and she couldn’t help but smile back. ‘So, dinner tomorrow?’

‘Yes. That would be nice’

‘Great, is 6.30 alright?’

’Yes, 6.30 is great’ she replied.

‘Wonderful’ he said as he glanced at his watch ‘I should be going. I have an early appointment in the morning. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Good night Miss Walker.’

‘Good night’ she said as he walked toward the door. She watched him as he walked outside and got into a waiting cab. She didn’t move from where she was standing until the cab pulled away. Once it was gone she started to make her way back up to her room. Everything felt surreal, like a dream. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. When she got to her room she put her pajamas back on and crawled into bed and fell asleep.

When Lizzy woke up the next morning everything was just where she left it, her notebook, map, and guide book were still on the bed as if she had fallen asleep while looking through them. She convinced herself that everything that happened the night before was just a dream, a wonderful, _beautiful_ dream that she would never forget. She got up and started getting ready for another day in London. 

After breakfast she headed out and wandered the city for a few hours, shopping, taking pictures, and replaying her ‘ _dream_ ’ over and over in her head. She kept remembering the kind stranger and loved that her subconscious had turned him into Tom Hiddleston, when she really thought about it did seem to fit, the stranger had a similar voice and smile, and they were both tall and slender, and very nice. She hoped that she would dream of him again.  
She went back to her hotel around 3.30p to drop off some of the things she had bought. As she got to the elevator her phone rang, it was her best friend, Iris.

‘Hey Lady’ she said when she answered

 _‘Hey Sweetie. How’s everything going? Are you having fun?’_ Iris asked

‘Yeah, everything’s great. I’m having a wonderful time. Seeing the sights, did some shopping. Just got back to the hotel to drop some stuff off.’

Lizzy told her about the kind stranger and then her dream of him being Tom Hiddleston. She was still talking when she walked into her room, she set her bags down and saw something out of the corner of her eye on the table by the window and stopped speaking mid-sentence.

 _‘Lizzy? Lizzy are you there?? HELLO?!?’_ Iris asked into the phone.

‘Um…. Yeah, I’m here… Hey Iris, did you send me flowers??’

_‘No, why?’_

‘Because there is a _really_ big bouquet of flowers in my room that wasn’t here when I left.’

_‘Is there a card?’_

‘Yeah’ Lizzy replied. She picked up the envelope and took out the card,

_‘Well, then read it silly’_

 

> _‘Dear Miss Walker,_  
>  Things are running behind schedule.  
>  Would it be possible to reschedule dinner to tomorrow night instead?  
>  Please call Luke Windsor, and let him know if this is okay, or if you would like to cancel instead. He’ll get your message to me.
> 
> _Cheers,  
>  Tom’_

Lizzy dropped her phone and just stared at the note in her hand.

 _‘Lizzy! Lizzy! Are you okay?’_ Iris shouted into the phone _‘LIZZY?!?’_

‘Iris….. I-It was real, it wasn’t a dream. He _really_ was here last night and he _really_ asked me to dinner’ Lizzy said franticly ‘what do I do!?’

_‘You go out with him of course! Call up this Luke person and say tomorrow is fine. Do it right now!’_

‘Um, yeah. Okay.’ Lizzy didn’t hang up her call with Iris, she just set her cell next to the phone on the nightstand, picked up the receiver and dialed the number at the bottom of the card. As the line rand she grew more and more nervous and considered hanging up or cancelling the ‘ _date_ ’ altogether.

 _‘Luke Windsor’s office. How can I help you?’_ Lizzy didn’t respond _‘Hello? Is anyone there?’_

‘Yes, sorry. Could I please speak to Luke Windsor?’

_‘Who’s calling please?’_

‘My name is Elizabeth Walker’

_‘One moment please’_

As Lizzy listened to the hold music it felt like an eternity, but it was really less than 35 seconds.

 _‘Miss Walker. Luke Windsor. Thank you for calling’_ he said as he answered _‘Tom was hoping that you would be able to reschedule for tomorrow night. He got held up and won’t be back in the city until pretty late tonight.’_

‘Um, Yes, of course. Tomorrow will be fine.’

_‘Is 6.30p still good?’_

‘Yes, it is’

_‘Great. I’ll let Tom know. Have a nice day.’_

‘Thank you. You too.’

Lizzy hung up the phone and picked up her cell, she could hear Iris saying _‘Oh my god! Oh my god!!’_ over and over.

‘Iris. Are you okay??’ Lizzy asked

 _‘Oh my god!’_ Iris said again _‘You have a date with Tom Hiddleston! Tom Freakin’ Hiddleston!!’_

‘Iris, calm down. Just relax’ Lizzy said to her

 _‘Calm down! How can I calm down! My best friend has a date with LOKI!!!’_ Lizzy let out a quiet giggle when Iris said Loki _‘WAIT! How are you so calm?!’_ Iris snapped _‘I’m not the one going out with him and I’m a mess! This is so not fair on so many levels!!’_

‘I think I’ve surpassed nervousness for the moment and I’m in some kind of shock’ Lizzy explained ‘I also think it won’t last. The clock is ticking and sometime before 6.30p tomorrow I’m going to have a meltdown.’ She added

_‘Ah. Been there. Done that!’ Iris said ‘So. What are you going to wear?’_

‘I have no idea! I don’t think I really brought anything suitable for a date. Especially with an actor’

 _‘I’m sure whatever you wear will be fine’_ Iris said

The two friends spoke for a little while longer before hanging up. Lizzy ended up ordering room service and turning in early, she could feel herself start to get more and more nervous about dinner with Tom with each passing second.


	2. **Dinner**

The next day Lizzy tried on everything she had brought with her…… Twice!  
She hadn’t thought about bringing anything date worthy. Especially not _date with a celebrity_ worthy. She resisted the urge to go shopping to buy something she knew she would spend way too much on and probably never wear again.  
  
She finally settled on her dark wash skinny jeans, a lacy pink and white top over a black cami and a pair of ballerina flats. With that decided it was now time to shower and do her hair and make-up. After blow-drying her hair she pinned it up on one side with a sparkly clip and did a threw on a little bit of make-up.

She didn’t bring much jewelry either, she didn’t really own much. She just had her teardrop sapphire necklace that her parents gave her for her 18th birthday and her simple silver hoops. When she finished getting ready she glanced at the clock on the nightstand, it was 5.50p, t-minus 40 minutes. She felt the meltdown she told Iris about coming on and decided to call her. It was almost 10a back home so she would be at work.

_‘Accounting, Iris Jones’_ she answered.

‘I-I can’t do this! I’m not going! I’m going to call and cancel!’ Lizzy blurted out

_‘Lizzy? Calm down. Everything is going to be fine. You’re going to have a great time!’_ Iris told her reassuringly.

‘No it’s not, I’m going to say o-or do something stupid…. Or both! You know I’m _really_ good at doing both!’

_‘Lizzy, seriously. Calm down! Take some deep breaths and relax. He wouldn’t have asked you out if he didn’t want to. He might be just as nervous as you are, so calm down!!’_

As Iris spoke Lizzy sat down on the sofa and began to calm down a little bit. Iris could always make her feel better.

_‘You’re also going to take a ton of pictures on your phone and text them to me throughout the night’_ Iris said _‘Especially of his butt!!’_  

Lizzy started laughing. Iris always succeeded in making her laugh during a crisis. She glanced over at the clock again, 6.09p

‘Oh. I should go. I want to be down in the lobby when he gets here.’

_‘Okay, have fun!’_

‘Thanks sweetie. Bye.’ Just as Lizzy hit end on her phone she heard Iris shout 

_‘PICTURES!!!’_

Lizzy laughed as she stood and walked toward the bedroom. She grabbed her purse from the bed and tossed her phone in, she then grabbed her lipstick from her make-up bag and put it on before tossing it in with her phone. It was the early June so and the weather was nice so she didn’t need her coat, but she did grab a cardigan just in case she got a chilly later. She took one last look in the mirror before heading out the door _‘this is as good as it’s going to get I guess_ ’ she said to herself.  
  
As she rode the elevator down she kept repeating the words Iris told her and it seemed to be calming her down a little bit, she could feel the butterflies in her stomach getting a little smaller. When she got to the lobby she didn’t see him, but it wasn’t quite 6.30p yet. She walked toward the sitting room to wait when she heard him call to her.

‘Good evening Miss Walker’ she turned to see Tom walking toward her. He was wearing dark navy slacks, black shoes, a white button down and a blazer a few shades lighter than his slacks. His hair was combed back, but still a little wild, it looked a bit like it did when he played Henry V. She had to resist the urge to run her fingers through it.

‘Mr. Hiddleston, hello. How are you?’

‘Oh, please call me Tom. I’m good and yourself’

‘I’m….. Good’ she replied. She could feel the butterflies start to grow again and her cheeks getting warmer.

‘You look wonderful’ he complimented.

‘Oh, thank you. So do you. I was hoping this would be alright, I didn’t really bring much for going out’ she said nervously as she looked down at what she was wearing.

‘You look perfect’ Tom said with a smile on his face, and Lizzy thought she saw the hint of a blush color his cheeks ‘Um….Shall we go?’

‘Yes’

As they walked toward the door Lizzy felt herself start to calm down a bit. There was a cab waiting just outside the door, Lizzy reached for the door handle but Tom beat her to it.

‘Please, allow me’ he said as he opened the car’s door. No one had ever opened a car door for her since she was a little kid. She flashed a shy smile as she slid into the car. Tom closed the door and walked around to the other side and got in. He gave the driver the address and they were off. For the first few minutes they sat in silence, Lizzy stared out the window as the buildings went by. She glanced over at Tom, he seemed a bit nervous too.

‘So, um….’ Lizzy said breaking the awkward silence ‘h-how was your meeting yesterday?’

‘It was alright. The train was delayed on the way there and then the meeting itself lasted longer than originally anticipated’ he replied.

‘Where did you have to go?’

‘Up to Leeds. It’s about 320 km (200mi) north of here’

‘And how long does it usually take to get there?’

‘Usually just over 2 hours, but the train had some engine trouble at the station in Newark so they had to work on that.’ Just as Tom finished his sentence they pulled up in front of the restaurant. Tom got out, paid and came around to open the door for her again.

The restaurant looked very nice, the outside was painted green, the name over the door was painted black and outlined in gold. There were lighter green awnings over the windows that were on both sides of the door, and large planter boxes surrounded by wrought iron fences below the windows.   
Once inside Tom was immediately greeted by an older gentleman, probably the owner, with a huge smile and a firm handshake. He grabbed a couple of menus and led them through the restaurant to their table. As they walked through the restaurant, it wasn’t very big and it wasn’t too busy. Their table was a rounded booth near the back, kind of secluded.

‘Can I get either of you anything?’ he asked as they sat

‘Scotch, please’ Tom said

‘And for you Miss?’ he asked Lizzy

‘Oh, um…. I’ll have a Rum and Pineapple juice, please’ she stammered

‘Of course. I’ll also get some bread for the table’

‘Thanks Tony’ Tom said as he walked away.

‘Come here often?’ Lizzy asked.

‘Yeah. I’ve been coming here for years. It’s one of my favorite places. It’s always pretty peaceful, a good place to go over lines or just relax.’ He answered with a smile.

Tony soon came back with their drinks and bread, and took their order. Afterword they sat in silence again and Lizzy picked at a piece of bread.

‘So, tell me about yourself. Where are you from? Do you have any brothers or sisters?’ Tom asked.

‘Oh. Well, I’m from Seattle Washington, I’ve lived there my whole life. I have 2 brothers, Vincent and Parker, and 1 sister, Melissa, all older’ Lizzy answered ‘Vincent is 40, and Parker and Melissa are 37, they’re twins’

‘And how old are you?’

’30, I’ll be 31 in September’

‘That’s a bit of a gap’

‘Yeah, I was kind of a surprise. My parents weren’t planning on having anymore kids after Parker and Mel, but, here I am’

Tom chucked softly, ‘How long will you be in London?’

‘Until next Thursday’

They talked all through dinner, about his family, more about hers. What they were like as kids and what they wanted to be when they grew up. By the time dessert arrived Lizzies butterflies were completely gone and she felt as if she had known him forever. She loved talking to him, the sound of his voice was magical, she could listen to him speak forever. After they finished dessert they walked outside to get a cab.

‘It’s a nice out tonight, would you care to take a stroll before we get a cab?’ Tom asked.

‘That would be nice’ she said with a smile, and they started walking down the tree lined streets. They kept talking and laughing as they walked and without realizing it they had walked all the way back to her hotel. Tom escorted her up to her room, she unlocked the door and pushed it open before turning back to face Tom.

‘Thank you so much for tonight, I had a wonderful time.’ She said to him.

‘So did I.’ Tom said as he put his arms around her and gave her a tight hug. Her cheek pressed against his chest as she slowly put her arms around him in return. She could feel his warmth and smell his cologne. He smelled amazing, like Burberry with a hint of tangerines, she didn’t want to let him go. As he released her from the hug he ran his hand down her arm to hers, brought her hand to his lips and gave it a gentle kiss. She felt her cheeks grow warm again.

‘Good night Miss Walker’ he said before he turned and walked toward the elevator. She tried to say goodnight back but she couldn’t make a sound. 

Lizzy turned and shut the door, she leaned against it and relived the night in her mind. She could still feel him around her, still smell him. She was in her own world with her memories of the night. She only came back to reality when she heard the text alert come from her phone, it was Iris.

_‘So…… how’s it going? Where are my pics??’_

_‘It was wonderful!! Sorry, no pics’_ she sent in reply

_‘Awwww…. I was looking forward to pics….. You didn’t take any??’_

_‘Not of Tom, but I have some of the Tower of London I could send you…. lol :-)’_

_‘No thanks… TAKE SOME NEXT TIME!!!!’_

_‘Maybe… if there is a next time. I’m pretty tired, gonna go to bed. I’ll call you later, ok’_

_‘Ok, nite’_

Lizzy turned off her phone and plugged it in. She grabbed her pajamas and went into the bathroom to change. She brushed her hair into a ponytail as the sink filled with water, before she put her hand in the water she stared at the back of her left hand, the one that Tom kissed, she traced the spot with the fingers of her right hand and smiled. After she washed her face she crawled into bed.

Lizzy woke the next morning around 8a, with a smile on her face, she had dreamt of Tom. She got out of bed and jumped in the shower, as she walked from the bathroom she saw something sticking under the door to her room. When she opened the door she found a folded note and a single pink rose. She sniffed the rose as she unfolded the note and read it.

> _‘Dear Elizabeth,_  
>  I was nearby on a run and wanted to say good morning, but didn’t want to wake you. I had a wonderful time last night. I’m going out of town for a few days, but I would love to see you again when I get back. I’ll be back late Sunday night, would you care to do something Monday afternoon?  
> Give me a call and let me know.
> 
> _Cheers,  
>  Tom’_

She set the rose and the note down and turned on her phone. As she waited for it to load she grabbed her clothes and went back to the bathroom to dress and brush her teeth. When she came back she sat on the edge of the bed, picked up her phone and dialed the number at the bottom of the note, as she hit call button and brought the phone to her ear she was suddenly very nervous, the line rang a couple times then went to voicemail,

_**Hey, it’s Tom. Leave me a message……..BEEP**_

‘Hi Tom, This is Lizzy. I just got your note. I had a wonderful time last night too. I would love to do something on Monday. Um, I guess I’ll talk to you later then. Bye’

After she hung up she thought to herself _‘Really wish I would have sent a text. I sounded like an idiot’_ and she laid back on the bed. After a few moments her phone started chiming, texts from last night were coming through, mostly from her mom. She was about to call her when she remembered the time difference and sent a text instead, letting her know everything was okay and she would call her later. She also sent a text to Iris, telling her about the rose, the note and about seeing Tom again on Monday. She stayed on the bed for a few more minutes, staring at the ceiling. She finally got up and grabbed her notebook and looked through her list of places to go.

She kept herself busy, crossing places off of her list. Buckingham Palace, Parliament, Big Ben and more. She had taken so many pictures that she had to buy another memory card for her camera. By late Saturday afternoon she was hoping she would have heard from Tom, but knew he must be busy. She didn’t want to call him and appear pushy or needy. So she just waited for him to call or text her back. And he finally did, Sunday afternoon around 2.00p, while she was in a little shop looking for some gifts for family and friends. When she saw his text she was instantly happier.

_‘Hi Lizzy. How are you? Sorry I haven’t been in touch’_ he wrote

_‘Hi. I’m good. That’s okay, I know you’ve been busy. How are you?’_

_‘Doing great. What are you up to today?’_

_‘Doing a little shopping right now, about to head over to the London Eye’_

_‘Sounds fun. So, I’m going to be back sooner than originally expected, care to grab dinner later tonight?’_

Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of seeing him tonight

_‘Yes, that would be great. Where/when should I meet you?’_

_‘Text me when you’re done at the eye and I should have a better idea of where I’ll be for sure, okay?’_

_‘Yeah, sounds good’_

Lizzy paid for her items and headed for the Eye. It took about 20 min for her to walk there. She snapped a few pictures before getting in line for a ticket. 

‘One Please’ she said when she approached the window. As she was getting her wallet from her bag she felt someone run up beside her, 

‘Make that 2!’ Tom said with a big smile on his face and a wink. Lizzy couldn’t believe he was here, she couldn’t think of anything to say, she just smiled at him. There weren’t many people there so they ended up with their own Capsule. As the wheel started its rotation Tom pointed to different locations while Lizzy took pictures.

‘So. Where did you go?’ Lizzy asked. ‘When did you get back?’

‘Germany, I have a movie starting there in a couple weeks, I went to check out some rental houses, sign paperwork and do a little prep work. Got back around 2.00 this morning’ Tom said ‘I was hoping you would be out someplace when I texted you so I could surprise you.’

‘I’m glad you did. It was a nice surprise’ she smiled and could feel the warmth in her cheeks. She couldn’t help but stare at him, embarrassed she started looking out the window again. She loved being near him, spending time with him. But it also made her wonder why he was with her. She knew this was only the second time they had spent more than 15 minutes together, but still, she wondered.

‘Here, give me your camera for a moment’ he said with his hand stretched out. She was a little reluctant to give it to him, but did. She hoped he wouldn’t take a picture of her, she prefered to stay behind the camera. He stood beside her, put his arm around her shoulder and held the camera out in front of them. Tom pulled her close and told her to smile. As he pressed the shutter he turned his head and kissed her temple.

‘This is a great picture’ he said as he looked at the screen. The fact that he just kissed her left her a little confused and stunned. He handed her the camera and she looked at the picture, she did like it, but only because he was in it with her. Touching her. She flashed a somber smile, walked a few steps away and stared out the window again.

‘Is everything alright?’ he asked

Lizzy nodded her head ‘Yeah. Everything’s…… fine’ she replied.

‘Are you sure?’ 

‘Can…. Can I ask you something?’ she said as she stared out the window of the capsule.

‘Of course’

She took a deep breath, turned her face toward him slightly, 

‘Why… why did you ask me out? I’m pretty sure I’m nothing like the women you usually go out with’

Tom looked at her for a few seconds before he answered 

‘Because I wanted to get to know you. When I first saw you at the restaurant and realized you were the woman I ran into the day before I was just going make sure you got your phone. But after talking to you I thought you seemed nice, someone worth getting to know.’ He said with a smile. ‘I also thought you were brave’

‘ _Brave_? Why would you think I’m brave?’

‘Well. You came to another country, _by yourself_. You carried on a conversation with a complete stranger, and invited him to join you. For all you knew, I could have been a serial killer.’ Lizzy smiled a bit as Tom moved closer to her. She turned to face him.

‘I also liked your smile when you were looking at your pictures’ he stood very close to her and started to raise his hand, he placed it on her face and stroked her cheek with his thumb, ‘and at dinner I couldn’t stop staring at your lips. I thought they looked so soft.’ 

She trembled at his touch and could feel her heart racing in her chest. He looked into her eyes, leaned forward and placed his lips on hers, giving her a gentle kiss.

His lips left hers just for a moment and he whispered ‘and I was right.’ 

He wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed her again. She wrapped her arms around him in return as he pulled her closer and kissed her deeper. He ran his hands down her back, his fingers pressing into her, suddenly she heard someone clear their throat. 

Their lips parted as they looked toward the door and saw a family standing at entrance to the capsule. They hadn’t noticed it had ended its rotation. Tom quickly apologized as Lizzy grabbed her things off the bench on their way out of the capsule.

They walked hand in hand for a while before stopping into a pub for a drink and a bite to eat. They sat there for hours, just talking and laughing. Tom walked Lizzy back to her hotel around 9p, he again escorted her up to her door this time instead of kissing her hand he gave her another gentle kiss on her lips before he left.

‘Good night Liz.’

‘Good night’ she said softly before going into her hotel room and getting ready for bed


	3. **Interruptions**

When Lizzy woke the next morning she checked her phone and saw that she had a few missed calls and bunch of text messages from the night before, but the only one she was interested in was from Tom. He had sent it about a half an hour ago, she instantly smiled as she read it,

_‘Good morning. I hope you slept alright Also hoping I get to spend the day with you.’_

_‘Morning. I did, did you? I was hoping the same’_ she sent in reply.

_‘Yes, I did. Pick you up in an hour?’_

_‘I’ll be ready’_

_‘See you soon’_

Lizzy flew out of bed, grabbed some clothes and jumped into the shower. After she brushed her teeth and dried her hair she glanced at her watch, it had almost been an hour. She threw her phone and her camera in her purse and headed for the elevator. Just as she was about to press the button the doors opened. There was Tom, standing inside, as soon as she saw him she had a huge smile on her face, and he had one on his. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. She and Tom spent the day wandering the city he called home, he showed her some of his favorite places. Lizzy even took a few pictures for fans that approached Tom. She also, _finally_ , sent a picture of Tom to Iris. In fact she sent a few, including one of the two of them together.

After a quick dinner Tom escorted her to room again, she unlocked her door and turned to say good night, but before she could say a word he placed his hands on her face and his lips on hers. Lizzy wrapped her arms around his neck as he ran his hands down her back and they slowly made their way into her room, Tom gently kicked the door shut. Their lips parted and they stared into each other’s eyes for a moment before Tom’s lips were on her neck, she felt his hands move further down her body. He rested one on her lower back as the other made its way to her butt. 

She let out a soft moan and dug her fingers into his back, Tom’s lips were back on hers as they were slowly making their way to the bed, she felt the back of her legs hit the edge of the bed and she sat down. Tom kept kissing her as she laid back and he crawled over her. She felt his weight settle over her as she started pulling at is shirt when the phone in her room started ringing, and she reluctantly pulled her lips from his

‘Um…. I think that’s my Mom. She’s the only one with the number to the hotel. She won’t stop calling till I talk to her’ she said breathlessly

‘Yeah…. Of course’ Tom replied as he took a deep breath and sat up, running his hand through his hair.

Lizzy cleared her throat as she answered, trying not to sound out of breath.

‘Hello?….. Yeah, hi Mom…… No, everything’s fine…… No, I didn’t hear my cell ring, the ringer might be off…….. Uh-huh, Oh no! Is she okay?…… Yeah, Um, Mom, can you hold for just a moment, there’s someone at the door….Um….. I requested some extra pillows’ Lizzy hit the hold button on the phone.

‘I’m _really_ sorry, this is going to take a while. My Aunt fell and twisted her hip and my Mom needs to bore me with every detail’

‘That’s ok. I hope your Aunt is okay’ tom replied as he stood and the two waled toward the door ‘Um…. Would you care to do something tomorrow?’ .

_‘Definitely!_ ’ she answered without hesitation.

‘Great. I’ll call you tomorrow.’ He leaned down and kissed her again ‘Good Night’

‘Good Night’ she said as he turned and walked down the hall. She shut the door, took another deep breath and let it out. She then went back to the phone and talked to her mom for the next 45 minutes. After she hung up she went into the bathroom to put on her pj’s, brush teeth and wash her face before heading to bed. She laid in bed for a little while, she couldn’t stop thinking about Tom. She could still feel his lips on hers and his hands on her body. Lizzy covered her face with her hands, _‘What am I doing? This is CRAZY!’_ she mumbled to herself. She rolled over, buried her face in the pillow and fell asleep. She had wonderful dreams of Tom that night.  
  
When Lizzy woke the next morning she sat on the bed and looked through the pictures of Tom in her camera. Just looking at his smiling face made her instantly happier. She could feel herself falling in love with him, and it scared her. After she took a shower and got dressed she decided to go out to breakfast, she started walking to a little café just down the street from the hotel. On her way there her phone rang, it was Tom, she couldn’t help but smile.

‘Good Morning’ she answered.

_‘Morning, I was wondering if you would like to have breakfast?’_

‘Sure. I just left the hotel, heading to a café not far away’ she replied

Tom asked which one and then told her he would be there in about 20 minutes. When Lizzy got to the café she got a table, the café had a nice outdoor seating area and she was seated there. She looked over the menu as she waited for Tom, when he got there he walked up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder, she looked up and smiled. Lizzy stood to hug him, he wrapped his arm arms around her tightly, he placed a kiss to the side of her head and then they sat. After breakfast Tom showed her around London some more, he also took her on a River Thames tour, she loved seeing the city from the river, especially Tower Bridge. As they disembarked at the dock Tom asked if she would like to have dinner and a movie, Lizzy said yes and they were off, before she knew it they were at his house. 

As Tom was in the kitchen getting them something to drink Lizzy was looking at all of the books he had. She grabbed a book of poems, sat on the couch and started flipping through the pages.

‘Dinner should be here in a little while. Did you pick a movie?’ he said as he handed her a glass of wine.

‘You know, when you said _‘dinner and a movie’_ I figured we would be going _out_ to dinner then a movie’ she said with a slight chuckle as she took the glass from him.

‘Oh. Well, we can still go out instead if you would prefer. I can call and cancel the delivery’ he replied.

‘No. I like it here’ she smiled and took sip of her wine and looked back at the book in her lap.

‘Good. So, did you pick a movie?’

‘Hmmm….. No, sorry. I was looking at your books. You can pick the movie’

‘What are you in the mood for?’ he asked as he stood in front of his movies

‘Oh… Um…. I’m up for anything’ she replied, slightly distracted.

‘What are you looking at?’ he asked as he walked back over to the couch and sat beside her.

‘Um,[ Bright Star](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D6vlIXu9C3Hw&t=MTcwNjdhMWQyMGVkNGVkMzlkZDhiZDdlYTMzMjI1OGUxMWNhMTJiYSxXZjhEaEJCTA%3D%3D&b=t%3AdgR3p7wSafNO9vcFW0eIFQ&p=https%3A%2F%2Fcaptain-krazy.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F134670081563%2Ffalling-in-love-in-london-chapter-three-tom&m=1) by John Keats’ she replied as she looked at the page.

Tom set his glass on the coffee table, looked into Lizzie’s eyes and began to recite the poem;

> _‘Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art–_  
>  Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night  
> And watching, with eternal lids apart,  
> Like nature’s patient, sleepless Eremite,  
> The moving waters at their priestlike task  
> Of pure ablution round earth’s human shores,  
> Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask  
> Of snow upon the mountains and the moors–  
> No–yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,  
> Pillow’d upon my fair love’s ripening breast,  
> To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,  
> Awake forever in a sweet unrest,  
> Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,  
> And so live ever–or else swoon to death.’

‘That….. that was…. beautiful’ she said softly.

He took her glass and the book from her and set them on the coffee table, he then turned back to her, took her hand in his and kissed the back of it gently, then her wrist. He glanced up into her eyes and she placed her other hand on his cheek and brought her lips to his, just as they met…… the doorbell rang. 

Tom exhaled and rested his forehead on hers for a moment, ‘Ugh…… Interrupted by the bell’ he said softly as he stood to answer the door. 

Lizzy took a deep breath as she stood, she pick up the book and set it back on the shelf. She walked into the kitchen to get plates and utensils, when she entered the kitchen it dawned on her that she didn’t know where anything was. Just then Tom come in with a bag and set it on the counter.

‘Plates are in that cupboard and forks are in the drawer below’ he said, pointing across the kitchen. After everything was plated Tom grabbed their wine glasses from the living room and they sat at the table to eat.

‘So, how did you know I was alone?’ Lizzy asked suddenly.

‘Um… What??’ Tom said in reply, slightly confused.

‘The other day in the capsule, you said you thought I was brave because I traveled to another country by myself. How did you _know_ I was by myself?’

‘Oh. Well, I didn’t see you with anyone at the hotel, and you were alone at the restaurant’

‘What if someone was waiting for me inside the hotel? _Or_ I was waiting for someone at the restaurant?’

‘I thought of that, but I was watching you for a while before I came over and you never looked up at the door.’

‘Uh….. I never looked at the door?’ she said a bit puzzled

‘Yeah, if you were waiting for someone at the restaurant you would have occasionally glanced up at the door to see if they had arrived. Or checked your phone to see if they had called or texted, but you never did.’

‘So, you’re a detective now are you?’

‘Well, I am friends with Sherlock Holmes….. Both of them!’ he said jokingly, Lizzy let out a soft laugh.

‘I have another question. About something you said _then_ and again just now’

‘Ask away’

‘Okay. You said you were watching me look through my camera for _a while_ before you came over. How long were you watching me?’

‘Um….. _Ehehehe_ ……Well…..’ he said as he scratched his head, slightly embarrassed. ‘Maybe….. 45 minutes or a little…… over an hour’ he said.

‘You watched me look at pictures…… for an _hour_?’ Lizzy said as she stared at him ‘Didn’t you have anything better or, oh I don’t know, more _fun_ to do?’ 

Tom just smiled and laughed and Lizzy couldn’t help but laugh as well.

‘May I ask you a question now?’ Tom asked

‘Yes, of course’

‘Okay. Why _did_ you come to London alone?’

‘Oh, I wasn’t supposed to be alone. My cousin, Greg, was supposed to come with me, but he broke his leg and couldn’t make it.’ Lizzy replied ‘I asked a few friends if they would like to come along in his place, but no one was able to get the time off work with such little notice’

‘I’m sorry that your cousin broke his leg, _but_ I can’t say I’m sorry he didn’t come with you’

‘Why?’

‘Well, had you been with another man I wouldn’t have been able to approach you’ Tom replied with a huge smile on his face. Lizzy smiled and felt her cheeks grow warm, she let out a soft chuckle.

After they finished eating and cleaned things up they headed back to the living room to watch a movie.

‘You _sure_ you don’t want to pick the movie’ Tom asked.

‘I’m sure’ said Lizzy as she sat down on the couch. Tom selected a movie and started it, he then sat down next to Lizzy. As the movie started Tom put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him. She liked how this felt, just him and her, sitting together. She rested her head on his shoulder and before too long she could feel her eyes getting heavy. It wasn’t much longer before she drifted off.

When Lizzy woke up she glanced down at her watch, it was almost 7.30, it had only been about 45 minutes since the movie started. She was about to apologize to Tom when she looked up and saw that he had also fallen asleep. It wasn’t too surprising, they had spent the better part of the last 2 days walking all over London. As Lizzy looked at him she took in every inch of his face. His cheekbone, his jaw, the sexy stubble on his chin, and the curls that fell softly at his neck. She could no longer resist the urge to run her fingers through them. She lifted her hand to his head, his hair was so soft, as she drew her fingers along the length of his hair he woke up.

‘I’m sorry’ she whispered, embarrassed, pulling her hand away.

Tom let out a soft chuckle and smiled at her, ‘That’s okay. I can think of worse ways to wake up.’ He looked deep into her eyes, lifted his hand, tucked some hair behind her ear and asked 

‘So…. Where did we leave off earlier?’

Lizzy placed her hand on his cheek, brought her lips close to his and said ‘I think we were here.’

When their lips met Lizzy felt a shock of electricity shoot through her body and she pulled him closer to her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He ran his hands down her back and he slipped one under her shirt. She let out a soft moan at his touch and he pulled her against him tightly. His lips moved to her neck, she bit her lip and ran her fingers through his hair, then ……….  
There was a knock at the door.

‘You have got to be kidding me! I’m not getting that!’ Tom said in frustration

_**dingdongdingdongdingdong**_

‘Umm… Maybe you should see who it is’ she said with a slight chuckle.

‘No. Whoever it is can just sod off’

_**dingdongdingdongdingdong**_

_‘Tom! You in there mate!? C’mon, open up!’_ a man’s slightly muffled voice came from the front door.

‘What in the…..’ Tom muttered as he stood and walked toward the door ‘I’ll be right back’ he added as he was walking away. As Lizzy sat there she started thinking that maybe this was a sign, that all of the interruptions were. She was leaving in just over a day, maybe it isn’t a good idea to go further, no matter how much she wanted to. She decided that it was time for her to go, time to say _goodbye_ to him.

‘It’s about time! You’re not ready… Go get changed’ said the man at the door.

‘Dean? What are you talking about? What are you doing here?’ Tom asked him

‘You forgot? How could you forget!? Bills stag do, we’re supposed to be there at 8.15p, Paul and Chris are already there’ Lizzy could hear his voice getting closer ‘Hurry up, go change and I’ll wait in th………Oh…. Uh….. You’re not alone!’ he said as he entered the living room and saw Lizzy sitting on the couch.

‘No. _Not alone_ ’ Tom said as he walked toward Lizzy, she stood as he approached her. ‘Liz, I’d like you to meet my friend Dean. Dean, this is Miss Elizabeth Walker’

‘Nice to meet you Elizabeth’ he said as he extended his hand to her.

‘It’s nice to meet you too’ she replied as she shook his hand. She then took a deep breath and mustered all the courage she had, ‘Um, I should get going. Tom, thank you so much for everything, I had wonderful time’ she said as she walked toward a chair near the living room’s doorway to grab her purse, then headed for the door.

‘Liz, wait!’ Tom said, surprised, as he went after her ‘Where are you going?’

‘I’m just going back to my hotel’ she said as she opened the door and stepped outside ‘I had a great time tonight’ 

‘Yes, you said that. What you didn’t say is _why_ you’re leaving’ he asked as he gently grabbed her hand just outside the door. ‘I thought we were having a nice evening’

‘We were, but you have plans with your friends and I think this might be a good time to say…. Goodbye’

‘What? Why?’ he said, with a slight look of surprise on his face when she said _Goodbye_ and not _Good Night_. ‘I don’t want you to leave yet’ he added, wrapping her hand in both of his

‘But you have plans. Don’t cancel them, please’

‘Liz…. Did I say… _or do_ … something wrong?’

‘No. No, of course not. I just……. I think it would be better if I go now, before……’ she didn’t finish her sentence, she turned, pulled her hand from his, and started walking quickly down the street.

‘Liz…… Liz….. _Wait_ a minute, before _what_?’ he stepped in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders, stopping her in her tracks. ‘ _Please_ talk to me’

Lizzy stammered a little as she spoke ‘I ju….. I just think that all these interruptions are signs that…… that we probably shouldn’t take things any…. _further_ ’ her voice started breaking a little 

‘The last few days have been the best of my life and I will never forget them, or you, but I’m _leaving_ in 36 hours and I’ll probably never see you again, so I just think it’s better if I leave now.’

‘Liz…. Please don’t go yet. Come back inside and we can talk’ he said as he saw a tear roll down her cheek.

‘I can’t. I have to go’ she tried to start walking, but Tom was still holding her shoulders, firmly, and standing in her way. ‘ _Please_. Just let me go. This, you and me, would never work. We’re too…….. _Different_.’

‘No, I’m not letting you leave. Not until we talk.’ He moved one of his hands to her head, stroking her ear lobe, ‘Come back inside. Please.’

Lizzy took a deep breath in and let it slowly out as she reluctantly nodded yes, they turned to walk back in his house. When they got back inside Tom realized his friend was still there,

‘Ah, Dean, I’m not going to make it tonight. Apologize for me okay?’ Tom said when he saw him.

‘Yeah, of course. Cheers mate’

‘Thanks. Talk to you later’ he said as he shut the door.

Lizzy stood in the hall, her back to Tom. 

‘So, would you like to tell me _why_ you think this wouldn’t work?’ He said as he walked toward her. ‘And don’t say it’s because I live here and you live there because that’s kind of a _lousy_ excuse.’

‘That’s part of it but also because I’m just…… I’m not _good enough_ for you’ she said softly

‘ _What_! That’s crazy, what are you talking about’

‘Tom, you’re this amazingly talented actor. You’re smart and sweet and kind, and you’re the sexiest, most beautiful person I have ever met. You deserve to be with someone that is just as amazing and beautiful as you. Not some…. _Nobody_ …. Like me.’

‘Hey, you are _not_ a nobody, not to me’ he stood in front of her, took her face in his hands and looked deep into her eyes ‘to me, you _are_ amazing and beautiful’ he wiped a tear away from her face with his thumb 

‘I’m falling in love with you Liz.’

Lizzy let out a deep breath and felt her heart flutter at his words

‘And that’s part of what’s scaring me, because I’m falling in love with you too. It’s just….. Happening so fast, we’ve only known each other for a few days! I have _never_ felt with anyone what I feel when I’m with you and It scares me so much it hurts, but knowing I’m leaving hurts even more.’

‘Love is scary Liz, for everyone. I’m scared too….. I’m afraid of losing you’ Tom wrapped his arms around her tightly and pulled her close to him. ‘I want you in my life. We can make this work. I promise.’

She rested her head on his chest, she could feel his heart racing. She slowly wrapped her arms around him, and he squeezed her a little tighter. He kissed the top of her head then rested his cheek on her head. 

‘I love you’ he whispered.

She closed her eyes and felt a wave of relief wash over her. She suddenly felt calmer, safe, relaxed…… _loved_ , and she felt her fears and doubts start to melt away. That he was right, that they _could_ make it work somehow. She lifted her head slightly and looked into his eyes, they seemed to be sparking more than usual. She brought her hand to his face and stroked his cheek with her thumb, just as he had done on the Eye, 

‘I love you too’ 

Tom smiled and kissed her forehead, Lizzy slid her hand back and stroked the hair at the back of his neck, she took a deep breath and kissed him. His grip tightened around her and she could feel his fingers digging into her back as he pressed her against the wall, he pulled his lips from hers for a moment and gazed into her eyes,   
  
‘Liz, I want you’ Tom whispered 

Lizzy smiled and felt a tear roll down her cheek as she pressed her lips to his.


	4. **Saying Goodbye**

When Lizzy woke the next morning the first thing she saw was a red rose on the pillow beside her head, along with a note from Tom,

> _“Went for a run.  There’s coffee in the kitchen if you would like some. See you soon.  
>  xoxo”_

After she read the note got up to look for her pants and undergarments, It didn’t take long, they were folded on a chair in the corner of Tom’s room. He must have put them there when he woke up because she knew she didn’t take the time to do that the night before. After she freshened up she went into the living room to get a hair tie from her purse and threw her hair into a messy ponytail before heading into the kitchen. She poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table and flipped through a magazine that was there. After a little while she heard the front door open and Tom walk in.

‘Good Morning’ he said as he stood behind her, giving her a kiss on the top of her head.

‘Morning. How was your run?’ she asked as she raised her glass to her lips 

‘It was good, shorter than usual. Didn’t really need a long one……. After last night’ he said with a Loki-ish smirk on his face. What he said caught her off guard and she almost choked on her coffee.

‘Oh, jeez! Sorry… you okay?’ he asked her, while trying not to laugh.

_*cough*_ ‘Um….. Yeah. I’m fine’ _*cough*_ she said as she wiped coffee from her chin. Tom came over and sat across from her at the table. He reached across and grabbed her hand.

‘So, what would you like to do today?’ he asked with a huge smile on his face ‘Oh! I know, how about we hop on the train and go down to Brighton. Walk along the beach, stay the night in a Bed and Breakfast…… _Not_ have breakfast’ he said with a smile and a wink.

‘Um…. That sounds incredible…. But I can’t. I have to head back to the hotel soon and start packing’ she said as she stared into her cup ‘leaving tomorrow morning’

She glanced up and saw the smile leave his face and her heart sank a little. She gave his hand a squeeze then he brought hers to his lips and kissed it. She let go of his hand, stood and put her cup in the sink, looking out the window for a moment.

‘Okay….. I’m going to take a shower and then we can head over to the hotel and I can help you pack’ he said as he stood

‘You don’t have to, packing is kind of a one person job’ she replied

‘But I _want_ too’ he walked up behind her and put his arms around her. ‘I want to spend as much time with you as I possibly can.’ He leaned down and started kissing her neck. She turned around to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck, just as she did Tom’s phone went off. Lizzy started giggling as she rested her forehead on his chest.

‘Do you have a button or something on your neck that makes phones and doorbells ring?’ Tom asked jokingly.

‘I’m starting to wonder that myself’ she replied, still giggling, as Tom pulled his phone from his pocket.

‘ _Damn_. Luke needs me to come into his office and sign some paperwork. Can I meet you at the hotel after to help?’

‘Yeah, of course. But like I said before, packing is kind of a one person job’

It was just after 12.30p when Lizzy got back to her hotel. She took shower before pulling her suitcase from the closet and flinging it on the bed. She then started to pull her clothes from the drawers and pile them on the bed next to her case, refolding them as she placed them in her case. Her suitcase was almost full, but she still had a bunch of stuff that needed to be packed, mostly stuff she had bought for her family and friends. She didn’t want to leave the hotel but she needed another bag so she decided to run to a nearby shop to get one.  
  
Once at the shop she quickly found a suitable bag. It was a little larger than a carry on, but not as big as her other suitcase. She made her way up to the counter to pay when something caught her eye, it was something she just couldn’t resist getting for Tom. She paid for her items, they even offered to wrap Toms’ gift for her, and headed back to the hotel to finish packing. As she got off the elevator and walked toward her room she saw Tom in front of her door, knocking.

‘Who’s there?’ she said with a giggle as she approached him. He turned toward her and smiled. ‘Have you been here long?’ she asked when she got to the door, pulling her key from her pocket.

‘No, just got here. Where did you go’ he said, moving to the side so she could unlock it.

‘Had to go get another bag for the rest of my stuff. Come on in’ she said pushing the door open. When they entered she apologized for the slight mess. It wasn’t too bad really, mostly just a bunch of shopping bags and small boxes from the stuff she had bought.

‘Looks like I might get to help you pack some after all’ he said when he saw the stuff on her bed. ‘But first, how about a late lunch?’ he added. It was already after 3.00p

‘Yeah. Ended up a lot more than I originally planned.’ She replied. ‘A late lunch sounds great. Or is it an early dinner?’

‘Either way, I’m starving’ he said.

After they ate they walked around for a few hours. As much as she knew she needed to finish her packing she didn’t want to go back to the hotel… Not yet. It was almost 8.30p when they finally did go back to the hotel. Tom helped her finish up her packing, it didn’t take too long. Once finished, Lizzy set her bags by the closet and went back and plopped herself on the bed. Tom came over and laid down near her and stretched one arm out. She repositioned herself, curling up beside him and resting her head on his chest. She loved hearing his heartbeat and feeling the rise and fall of his chest with every breath. He wrapped his arm around her and took her hand in his.

‘I like this’ she said softly, breaking the silence. Tom brought her hand to his lips and gently kissed her wrist.

‘So do I’ he replied as he entwined his long, slender fingers with hers.

********************

Lizzy woke to the sound of a phone ringing. She and Tom were still laying together in the same spot as the night before, she didn’t know when they had fallen asleep. She sat up slowly and answered the phone with a hushed voice, as to not wake Tom.

‘Hello’

_‘Good Morning Miss Walker. This is your 7.30a wake-up call’_ said a voice on the other end.

‘Oh. Thank You’ she said and then hung up the phone. She glanced over at Tom and just stared at him for a few minutes, taking in all of his beauty as he slept and committing it to her memory, she didn’t know when she would see him like this again. As he started to wake he took a deep breath in and stretched his arms up over his head.

‘Mmmmmm…… Good Morning’ he said as he sat up a bit and smiled “what time is it?’

‘Morning. It’s a little after 7.30. The front desk just called with my wake-up call. I should jump in the shower. I’ll have to go soon.’ She said with a bit of sadness in her voice.

‘Want to grab some breakfast after your shower?’ Tom asked as he stood and stretched some more.

‘No, not really hungry’ she stood up and walked a few steps before Tom came over and pulled he into a hug. Lizzy wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back tightly before taking a deep breath, ‘Okay…. I’m going to take a shower, wake myself up.’ She let go of Tom and walked toward the bathroom, grabbing the clothes she set out last night on her way. When she came out of the bathroom Tom was sitting on the sofa, and there were 2 cups of coffee and 2 scones on the coffee table. As well as a small gift.

‘Um…. What’s all this?’ she asked when she saw everything.

‘I know you said you’re not hungry, but you have to eat _something_ before your flight, so I ran downstairs and got us some coffee’

‘Okay… Um… What’s with the gift?’ she asked, pointing to a small wrapped box next to her coffee.

‘Oh, that. Saw that the other day while we were out and I thought you might like it’ he said with a smile on his face. She set her toiletry bag, and the clothes she was carrying, down on top of her suitcase, she grabbed her purse and pulled out the gift she got for Tom.

‘Okay’ she said walking toward him ‘then you get to open this.’ She handed him the small gift as she sat next to him on the sofa.

‘You didn’t have to get me anything’ he said, holding the box in his hand

‘Neither did you’ she replied as she reached for her gift. She unwrapped the paper to find a black velvet jewelry box, when she opened it she let out a quiet giggle, but also had tears in her eyes. It was a stunning Claddagh pendant that had a Sapphire Heart.

‘It’s beautiful Tom. Thank you’ she said as she wiped a tear from her cheek and stared at it.

‘I was hoping you’d like it.’ He said

‘Open yours’ she said glancing at the gift she gave him. Tom tore off the paper and took the lid of the box, he let out a chuckle when saw its contents. A Silver Claddagh Tie Clip.

‘I’ve always liked them, and when I saw that I thought of you’ she added.

‘So have I’ he said with a smile ‘Thank you Liz’ he leaned over and gave her a kiss.

After they finished their coffee and scones Lizzy took the necklace out of the box to put it on.

‘Here, let me help you’ Tom said offering to clasp the necklace for her. Lizzy handed him the necklace as they stood, she turned around and pulled her hair to the side as Tom draped the necklace around her neck and fastened the clasp. She let her hair fall as she brought her hand to the pendant and wrapped her fingers around it. Tom leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss on the neck as he ran his hands down her arms, wrapping them around her and pulling her close to him, his lips still on her neck. She placed her arms on his, closed her eyes, and let out a soft sigh. They stood there for a few minutes, just holding each other in silence.  
Lizzy opened he eyes a little and glanced at the clock, it was 9.40, almost time to leave for the airport.

‘I have to go soon’ she said softly, sadly. Tom squeezed her and kissed her neck again. Then took a deep breath in.

‘Okay, um…… I’ll grab your bags and we’ll go down and get a cab’

Lizzy shoved her clothes in her suite case and the box her necklace was in, into the bag she bought yesterday and put on her shoes. Tom put his gift in his pocket, walked over and picked up her bags.

‘Ready?’ he asked as he opened the door. Lizzy took one last look around the room to make sure she had everything, grabbed her purse, tossed her phone in and walked out the door. When they got to the lobby Tom went outside to get a cab while Lizzy checked out. She came outside as he was putting her luggage in.

‘All set?’ he asked as he opened the cabs door for her. Just as she was about to get in she stopped.

‘Tom, wait……’ she took a deep breath before she continued ‘I…… I don’t want you to come to the airport with me’

‘What…. Why??’ he asked, saddened and a little confused.

‘I don’t want to say goodbye to you in some airport terminal, surrounded by dozens of strangers’

‘Are you sure’ he asked

‘I’m sure’ she replied as she wrapped her arms around him and rested her cheek on his chest. He put his arms around her in return and held her tightly.

‘I don’t want you to go yet’ he whispered

‘I don’t want to go either’

‘Then don’t. Stay for a few more days, or weeks’ he said

‘I wish I could, but I have to be back at work on Monday’ she replied ‘plus, you leave for Germany soon, so you’ll be busy too’

‘And when filming is done I’m going to come to Seattle to see you’

Lizzy lifted her head, took a slight step back and looked up into his beautiful eyes.

‘ _Really_?’ she asked. Tom stared deep into her eyes and smiled.

‘Really. I told you, _this_ is going to work’ he raised a hand to her cheek and wiped away a tear with his thumb ‘I _love_ you, Liz.’ She could feel her heart racing.

‘I love you too, Tom’ he brought his lips to hers and kissed her passionately.

‘Um….. Miss….. Your flight’ Lizzy heard the cab driver say as her lips left Toms’

‘Yeah…um…. I’m ready’ she said breathlessly. She turned and got into the cab. Tom kissed her hand before he closed the door.

‘Call me when you get home. I want to know that you’re safe’ he said as he shut the door. ‘I love you’

‘I will. I love you too’ she said through the window as the cab pulled away.

She turned to look out the back window and kept her eyes on Tom until the cab rounded the corner and she could no longer see him. Her heart sank and she could feel the tears streaming down her face. She took a deep breath and stared out the window as the cab drove on. 

She was going to miss London, miss walking down these streets, but most of all she was going to miss Tom. She raised her hand to her neck and wrapped her fingers tightly around the pendant and she started to feel a bit better.

She knew she would see him again………. Soon.


	5. **Back in Seattle**

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The following chapters are from ‘Together Again’ (the sequel to ‘Falling in Love in London’ on Wattpad), when Tom comes to Seattle to visit Lizzy (and after). Some of the places I mention in/around Seattle are real and some are not.

Lizzy had been home for almost 2 months now, she and Tom had spoken almost every day since she left London; they had a schedule in place to work around the time difference between Seattle and where he was filming in Germany. It was the end of August, her birthday was a little over three weeks away and Tom’s movie was set to wrap in the middles of October. He was planning to head home for a little while before coming to visit near the end of the month. She couldn’t wait to see him again, to feel his arms around her and his lips on hers.  

She also couldn’t wait for him to meet her family and friends. She had told them that she had met someone in London but didn’t tell them too much about him, she suspected that most of them didn’t believe her since she was so secretive about him, also due to the fact that she claimed to not have any pictures of him. Or as her 10-year-old niece, Jamie, put it ‘ _pics or it didn’t happen!’_ Which always made Lizzy laugh a little since most people _had_ seen pictures of them together, they just didn’t know it was her.

Almost as soon as she and Tom started spending time together in London they had been spotted by paparazzi. They just didn’t seem to have any good pictures of her, most of the pictures were just of them walking together, holding hands, or the occasional quick peck on the cheek, all from her side or back and pretty blurry. The most ‘famous’ picture of them was their passionate goodbye kiss in front of her hotel, and because he had been seen going in with her the night before and not coming out until the next morning she had been dubbed _‘Tom’s Mystery Woman.’_   Tom told her when the picture surfaced Luke had called the hotel and they promised not to release any information regarding her identity. Iris was the only one that really knew about them, Lizzy showed her all the pictures of her and Tom that they had taken while they were together.

‘You like it, don’t you?’ Iris asked as she sat at Lizzy’s kitchen table, sipping on coffee

‘Like what?’

‘Being referred to as _‘Mystery Woman’_ You get a kick out of it, admit it’

‘Mostly I just think it’s funny that there is not one clear picture of my face. We were out in public, not even trying to hide. Aren’t they supposed to be _professionals?_ ’ she replied.

‘I also can’t believe you haven’t told anyone else. Why don’t you want them to know?’

‘I _do_ want them to know, and they will. I’m going to tell everyone everything before he comes to visit. Until then, you’re the only one that knows’

‘Why wait?’

‘ _No one_ is going to believe me if I tell them I’m dating Tom Hiddleston, at least if I wait until he gets here I have him as proof’

‘You have proof! All the pictures you two took together’

‘They can say I photo shopped them’

Iris rolled her eyes a little, let out a sigh, and took another sip of her coffee

‘Okay. New subject. What kind of cake do you want at your birthday party’ she asked

‘Oh, yeah… How about… None! Told you, I _don’t_ want a party’

‘Tough, it’s happening’

‘You know how much I _hate_ parties, especially parties for me. I _hate_ being the center of attention’

‘Says the woman dating one of _the_ hottest celebrities in the world!’

‘Hey, I’m still _‘Mystery Woman’_ and you’re the only one that knows it’s me, so I’m not the center of anything’

‘ _Yet!_ Once you and Tom go public, _everything_ changes!’ Iris said

‘Ugh! Don’t remind me!’ she said laying her head on the table

‘So, when is lover boy going to be here?’

‘Filming on his movie is set to wrap on October 15th. He is going to go home for a few days first, see his family, then he’ll arrive here on the 21st’

‘And how long will he be here?’

‘A little over a week. Then he has to get ready to do a promo tour for the movie he filmed earlier this year’

‘Is there going to be any promo for it here in the States?’

‘Yeah, Big Premiere in LA, Red Carpet and all, mid-November I think’

‘Are you going to that with him?’

_‘No way!’_

‘Why not, that would be _amazing_!’ Iris said, excitedly

‘Firstly, No it wouldn’t, not for me. Secondly, He hasn’t asked me to go’

‘He still could’

‘I hope not. I think it would be really hard to turn him down’

‘Then _don’t_ turn him down. If he asks, go! Have fun!’ Iris said as she glanced at the time on her phone ‘Oh! I have to go. I have to pick Bran up from his music lesson. I’ll call you later’

‘Okay, talk to you later’ Lizzy said as iris walked toward the door.

*********************

The days leading up to her birthday seemed to drag on forever. Mostly because with each passing day it was one closer to seeing Tom again and the anticipation was building. The day before her birthday was just like any other Friday; she got up, got dressed and went to work. About an hour after she came back from lunch one of her co-workers came looking for her.

‘Hey Lizzy, there’s a delivery for you at the front desk’

‘What is it?’ she asked

‘Delivery for you at the front desk’ she said again with a smile.

When Lizzy got to the front desk, she immediately saw a beautiful, and rather large, bouquet of her favorite flowers. She had an equally large smile on her face. Before even looking at the card she knew who they were from.

> _“My Darling Liz,_  
>  I hope you have the Happiest of Birthdays.  
> I’ll see you soon.  
> All my Love,  
> Tom.”

She felt a tear roll down her cheek.

‘Who are they from?’ her co-worker asked

‘They’re from Tom’ she replied as she picked them up and carried them back to her workstation. When she got there, she grabbed her phone from her purse to call Tom but as she started dialing she realized it was almost 11p in Germany and he might already be asleep so she sent him a text instead,

_“Thank You so much, they’re beautiful!! I love them!  And I love YOU! I can’t wait to see you, to hold you!!  
xoxox”_

When she got home, she set the flowers on her table and stared at them for a few minutes. She picked up her phone, longing to talk to Tom, but it was after 3am where he was and she didn’t want to wake him. She set her phone back on the table then went to change before fixing herself something for dinner. After she finished eating she sat on the couch and turned on the TV, the only thing on was the news. After the news ended, she flipped through the channels looking for something to watch but there wasn’t anything on. She turned off the TV and walked over to her bookshelf to get the book she had been meaning to start for weeks. Just before 8p, she heard her phone ring; she didn’t even have to look at it to know it was Tom. She assigned him his own ringtone and every time she heard it, her heart skipped a beat.

‘Hello Sweetie’ she said as she answered the phone ‘Thank you for my flowers, they’re absolutely beautiful’

_‘You’re more than welcome, Darling. I’m glad you like them; I was hoping I remembered the right ones’_ Tom replied

‘I can’t believe you did. I only mentioned liking Stargazer Lilies once….  _Weeks_ ago’

_‘I try to remember everything you tell me you like’_

‘As long as you always remember how much I love you, you can forget everything else’

_‘That is something I will never forget’_ he replied _‘So. What are you up to tonight? Going to go out for a pre-birthday bash with friends?’_

‘No, staying in. Trying to mentally prepare myself for Iris’ party tomorrow night’

_‘Iris’ party? I thought it was your birthday party?’_

‘It’s Iris’ birthday party for me. That I don’t want’ Lizzy told him

_‘Why don’t you want it?’_

‘I don’t like birthday parties…. Well, my birthday parties at least’

_‘It’ll will be fine. So, anything good on TV tonight?’_

‘No, just reruns. Turned it off and finally started that book I’ve been meaning too’ she replied ‘Hey, why are you up so early, isn’t like 5a there’

_‘Yeah, we’re getting an early start, need some sunrise shots’_

‘That sounds nice. Wish I could watch the sunrise with you’

_‘Well, I’ll be there soon and we can watch the sunrise every morning’_ he told her

‘I can’t wait. Counting the days.’

_‘So, how’s the book?’_ he asked

‘It’s pretty good. Glad I finally started it’ just as Lizzy finished the sentence there was a knock at the door ‘Ugh, who could that be?’ she muttered as she walked toward the door

_‘Maybe it’s a delivery’_ Tom said to her

‘You didn’t send me something else did you?’

_‘Maybe’_ he replied, with a chuckle

‘I really hope you didn’t’ she said as she opened the door… and saw Tom standing on her porch

‘Don’t you just hate it when you’re talking on the phone to your boyfriend, who’s supposed to be in Germany, and there’s a knock at your door. Then when you open it he’s standing there to surprise you for your birthday?’

Lizzy threw her arms around him so hard he almost lost his footing a 

‘No, I don’t hate it at all!’ she said tearfully as she pressed her face against his chest.

He chuckled, wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed the top of her head   
  
‘I missed you too, Liz’ he whispered

She lifted her head to say something but before she could utter a word his lips were on hers. She could feel his arms tighten around her and his fingers digging into her back. Tom kicked the front door shut as they moved further into the house.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As they laid in bed, Lizzy rested her head on Tom’s arm and softly ran her fingers over his chest while he gently stroked her hair.

‘So, not that I’m complaining or anything…..’ she said breaking the blissful silence ‘but you weren’t supposed to be here for another month’

‘Ed decided to move production to London for last bit of filming, so he gave us some time off while he get’s everything set up’

‘How long will you be able to stay?’

‘Two weeks. Then we resume filming up until a few days before I start promo for my other movie’ 

‘Does that mean you wouldn’t have been able to visit like you planned?’

‘Yeah. When I was on my way to the airport I was going to call and tell you that I had to cancel my planned trip wouldn’t be able to visit until after the promo tour ended, but then I thought, why not just go now and changed my ticket’

Lizzy blushed and placed a kiss to his neck ‘I’m really glad you’re here. I’ve missed you’

‘I missed you too’ he glanced over at the clock on her nightstand ‘hey, it’s after midnight. Happy Birthday Darling!’

‘I think this is going to be the best birthday ever’ she said as she looked up into his eyes and smiled. She then sat up and grabbed her robe, ‘I’m going to get a glass of water, want one’

‘Yeah. I’ll come with you. I need to get something from my bag.’

Lizzy walked into the kitchen as Tom grabbed his carry on from the floor by the front door, he sat on the couch and started digging through it. Lizzy came back from the kitchen with two glasses of water and sat Tom’s on the coffee table in front of him.

‘What are you looking for?’ she asked as she sat next to him on the couch, taking a drink of water

‘This’ he said as he pulled a small gift from his bag ‘Happy Birthday!’ he said with a big smile on his face, holding the gift in front of her, and letting the bag drop to the floor beside the couch.

‘You didn’t have to get me anything, Tom. You being here is all the gift I need’

‘Liz. It’s your birthday, open it’ still holding it out to her

She took it from him, unwrapped it, and took the lid off the small white box. Inside was a beautiful charm bracelet with three charms on it.

‘Oh Tom! This is _beautiful_. Thank you’ she said as she lifted it from the box.

‘Here’ he said. He took the bracelet from her and put it around her wrist, as he did he explained to her why he chose the charms that were on the bracelet.

‘I chose the Union flag because we met in London, the Loki helmet because you called me _Loki_ after I asked you out and I chose this heart because…….’ He paused for a moment as he held the heart charm and looked up into Lizzie’s eyes ‘my heart is yours.’   
  
‘Where did you ever find a Loki charm?’

‘I had it made. A friend of my father is a jeweler and I asked him if he’d be able to do it’

‘I… I can’t  believe you went to all that trouble’

‘No trouble at all love’

Lizzy leaned forward and wrapped her arms rightly around Tom’s neck and kissed him deeply before burying her face against his neck

‘I love you, Tom. So much’ 

‘I love you too’

Lizzy woke the next morning around 7.00, Tom was still fast asleep. She grabbed some clothes, tiptoed out of the room and quietly shut the door so he could sleep.

After she showered and dressed, she made a pot of coffee and sat on the couch with her laptop. She flipped it open and went online to check some things. When she signed in to her Facebook, she had a bunch of Happy Birthday Messages from her family and friends. After she checked everything she needed to, she closed her laptop and picked up her book. She didn’t want to turn on the TV and have the noise wake Tom. It was almost 11:30a when he emerged from the bedroom.

‘Good Morning Sunshine’ she said to him as he walked toward the couch, scratching his head ‘Would you like a cup of coffee?’

‘Yeah, that sounds great’ she started to get up and get it for him

‘No, I’ll get it’ he said.

‘Cups are to the right of the sink’ she told him as he walked into the kitchen. Once he had his coffee, he came and sat beside her on the couch.

‘Did you sleep alright?’ she asked him as he took a sip of his coffee.

‘Yeah, I did. Can’t believe I slept so long though’ he answered

‘Sweetie, you needed it. You had a 10 hour flight from Germany yesterday, following 2 months of filming’ she said she grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze.

‘Not to mention catching up last night’ he glanced over at Lizzy as he brought his cup to his lips _‘twice’_

Lizzy didn’t say anything; she just looked at him, shook her head, smiled and, playfully, slapped his hand. He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

‘Mind if I shower?’

‘Not at all. I put a clean towel and washcloth in the bathroom for you’

‘Thanks’ he said as he stood and stretched. He walked over, grabbed his suitcases from by the door, and took them into Lizzie’s room. He came out a few minutes later with clean clothes in hand and walked toward the bathroom.

‘Want me to make you something to eat while you’re in there?’ she asked him before he went in.

‘No, I’m fine’

‘Are you sure? When was the last time you ate something?’ He stopped and had to think about it for a moment.

‘Hmmm… Now that you mention it, it has been a while.’

‘What would you like?’

‘Anything will be fine’

‘Okay’ 

He flashed her a smile and went into the bathroom, she heard the shower turn on as she walked into the kitchen. She made them both a sandwich and poured a couple glasses of iced tea. She set everything on the table and read some more of her book until he came out and joined her at the table. They sat and talked while they ate, mostly about Tom’s movie in Germany, and he showed her some pictures that he had taken on his phone. He grabbed their plates and glasses to put them in the sink, when he stood his legs were a little stiff and he let out a soft groan.

‘Oooo! I think that flight is catching up with me. Care to take a walk with me so I can really stretch my legs?’ he asked as he took the dishes in the kitchen.

‘I’d love to’ she said with a smile. They both put on shoes and headed out the door. As they walked through Lizzie’s neighborhood, she showed him the coffee shop where she gets her latte on her way to work, the bar where she and some of her friends meet at occasionally, and her favorite burger place. They walked for a while, Tom stopped into a little store and grabbed a bottle of wine and some flowers to take over to Iris’ then they made their way back to Lizzie’s to get ready for the party.

Once back at her house she started going through her closet for something to wear. She decided on a denim skirt, with black leggings and her brown boots, a pink shirt and a black cardigan. Tom wore a pair of dark wash jeans, black shoes, a blue shirt, and a black leather jacket. As they drove to Iris’ house, the radio in Lizzie’s car was on and during one of the commercial breaks, the DJ announced some _‘Breaking News’_

> _‘We haven’t had any confirmation on this but a few local listeners that flew in from Germany yesterday say they thought they saw Tom Hiddleston on their flight. They also said that he waited for luggage and then got into a black town car and left the airport. So be on the lookout for Loki this weekend’_

‘I guess I was spotted yesterday’ Tom said with a chuckle

‘Should make for an interesting trip’ Lizzy replied.

‘You know what this means, don’t you?’ he asked

‘Um, that my time as ‘Mystery Woman’ might be ending soon?’

‘Yeah. Are you okay with that?’

‘It was bound to happen eventually, right?’ 

Tom smiled at her as they pulled up in Iris’ driveway.

‘We’re here. Ready?’ she asked

‘Yeah, I’m looking forward to meeting everyone’ he said with a huge smile on his face ‘Do they know I’m coming?’ he asked as they walked to the door.

‘Iris does, she called this morning and wondered why I was whispering when I was talking to her, so I told her you flew in. She’s _very_ excited to meet you.’

Tom stood behind her as she rang the bell. Iris flung the door open while shouting ‘Happy Birthday’ and throwing her arms around her.

‘Thanks Sweetie’ Lizzy said back ‘is everyone here?’

‘Yeah, all inside waiting to see you’ Iris finally noticed that Tom was standing behind Lizzy ‘ _Oh. My. God._ You’re really him!’

‘Iris, this is Tom. Tom, this is my best friend Iris.’

‘It’s a pleasure finally to meet you Iris, Lizzy talks about you all the time. Thank you for having me’ Tom and Iris shook hands, he then gave her the wine and flowers before they all walked into the living room to meet everyone. When they entered the room, everyone was wishing Lizzy a happy birthday and no one really noticed Tom. Once she thought everyone had said hello to her she introduced him.

‘Okay, so as you all know I met someone in London. Well, he decided to surprise me for my birthday by flying in last night. Everyone, I would like you to meet my boyfriend, Tom. Tom Hiddleston.’ Everyone stopped and just stared at him.

‘Um, Hello everyone’ he said as he waved. Her parents were the first to come up and introduce themselves. They didn’t know who Tom was, they just knew he was their daughter’s boyfriend and they wanted to meet him. 

Over the course of the evening, Tom met everyone; she loved watching her family and friends interact with him. Her brother Parker showed their parents some videos from YouTube on his phone to help them understand _who_ Tom was. After the cake was cut, the gifts opened and a few of the guests had left, Lizzy sat on the living room floor playing with a few of her nieces and nephews. Tom sat across the living room watching and smiling, Iris sat down beside him.

‘Thank you’ she said to him as she sat.

‘You’re welcome, I hope you like the wine.’

‘No. I mean, Thank you for making my best friend the _happiest_ that I think I have ever seen her’

‘She makes me very happy too. I’m very glad she’s in my life’ Tom said with a huge smile on his face. ‘As her best friend, you probably know her better than anyone, so I wanted to ask you something.  Do you think if I were to ask her to join me in LA for my movie premier in November, she would?’

‘She’ll probably say _no_. But only because she thinks she doesn’t want to go, but _I_ think she does. We were talking the other day and she told me about the premiere, I asked her if she was going with you and she said that you hadn’t asked, and hoped you wouldn’t because it might be hard to turn you down.’ She saw Toms smile leave his face ‘ _But_ , I also think that if you really want her to go with you, you should ask her. Give her some time to think about it, and she’ll go’

‘Thanks Iris. I’ll do that’ he put his arm around her and gave her a hug.

‘Should I be worried?’ Lizzy said jokingly when she came over to them

‘Yes. Yes, you should be’ Tom replied as he pulled Iris a little closer

‘Yeah. He’s _mine_ now!’ hugging him back

‘Might have to fight me for her Tom’ Eric, Iris’ husband, said as he also came over to them. ‘Everyone else has left, just us now’ he added. Lizzy looked over at Tom as he yawned.

‘We should probably get going; pretty tired’ she said ‘I’ll come over tomorrow and help you clean up’

‘No, Eric and I will take care of it’ Iris said as she stood and hugged Lizzy ‘Happy Birthday sweetie. Tom, it was wonderful to finally meet you. Hope to see you again’

‘Iris, Eric. Wonderful to meet you both, Thank you so much for having me. The 4 of us should all go out while I’m here’ Tom replied as he hugged iris and shook Eric’s hand.

‘Definitely’ Iris replied excitedly

They walked out to the car and began the 30 minute drive back to Lizzie’s.

‘I really like your family and friends, they are all amazing. I’m happy I finally got to meet them’ Tom said as Lizzy drove.

‘I’m happy everyone now knows you’ Lizzy replied ‘They all _really_ liked you too’

When they got back to Lizzie’s house, they both changed and climbed into bed. Tom laid on his back and Lizzy rested her head on his arm. She draped her arm across his chest while he ran his fingertips softly over her skin.

‘Have I told you how happy I am that you’re here’ Lizzy whispered

‘Once or twice’ he replied ‘Have I told you how much I would love it if you would join me in LA for the premiere?’

‘Uh, no…. that you hadn’t mentioned’ she said as she sat up.

‘Well, I’m mentioning it now. Would you like to go with me?’ he asked with a huge smile on his face.

‘What would I have to do?’ she asked as Tom also sat up

‘Um…. Fly down to LA, stay with me in a hotel, walk in with me, sit next to me during the movie and have fun at the after party’ he replied ‘Plus you’ll get to meet a few of my friends’ 

He could see the nervousness in her eyes ‘Look, you don’t have to decide right now. It’s not for another two months so you have some time to think about it before you say yes’ 

‘Okay. I _will_ think about it, I promise’ she said. Tom leaned over and gave her a kiss. Lizzy smiled and turned to lay on her side, Tom laid down behind her and slid his arm around her again.

He gave her a kiss on the back of her shoulder and whispered ‘Happy Birthday, Liz. Good night.’  

Lizzy placed her arms over his and both were soon fast asleep.


	6. **Staying In**

Lizzy woke the next morning to the smell of coffee, when she walked out into the living room Tom was sitting on the couch with his laptop. She walked up behind the couch and put her arms around his neck.

‘Good morning’ she said as she gave him a kiss on the cheek ‘How long have you been up?’

‘About an hour. Didn’t want to wake you.’ he replied, turning to kiss her back ‘I made coffee.’ Lizzy walked into the kitchen to get a cup, as she was walking back toward the couch her house phone started to ring.

‘Oooo!’ she said excitedly as she looked at the caller ID ‘Hello……. Yeah, Hi Rob……. Really? Are you _sure_?…….. Thank you! Thank you _so_ much!!…….. Yeah, I’ll talk to you later. Bye’ she hung up and sat down on the couch, a big smile on her face.

‘Good news?’ Tom asked.

‘ _Great_ news! That was Rob, my boss. I called him yesterday morning while you were asleep, I told him you had flown in and asked if there was _any_ possible way I could get the next 2-weeks off. He looked over things and saw that we’re ahead on most of our projects so he said I could have the time off, he’s just going to move up the vacation I was going to take in October when you were originally going to come.’

‘That _is_ great. So…. what are we doing first?’

‘Well, I was thinking maybe we could go out for breakfast pretty soon and then come back here, veg on the couch, and watch a bunch of movies. You know, just relax;, take it easy, let you catch up on rest. You looked so tired at Iris’ last night, every time I looked at you it seemed like you were struggling to stay awake’  
  
Tom smiled, leaned over and kissed her. ‘That sounds great’ he replied

‘Good. I’m going to take shower, get dressed, and we’ll go’ with that Lizzy jumped up and went into the bathroom. Before they headed out the door Tom grabbed a baseball hat and a pair of sunglasses, since there was that announcement on the radio the night before he’d try to  _disguise_  himself a bit. 

Lizzy took Tom to one of her favorite places for breakfast. It was a nice little family place that Lizzy and her dad went for breakfast two or three times a month. She was on a first name basis with most of the people that worked there, they were used to seeing her come in with her dad and this was the first time she had ever come in with someone else.

‘Lizzy! Oh my goodness! I wasn’t expecting to see you this week!’ said a woman as soon as they walked in ‘where’s your dad?’

‘He’s not with me today. This is my boyfriend, Tom. He’s visiting from London.’ she replied as they were led through the restaurant.

‘Nice to meet you Tom. I’m Ellen. You know, I don’t think I’ve _ever_ seen Elizabeth in here with anyone but her dad’ she said as they sat at their table ‘I’ll tell Katie you’re here’

‘Thanks Ellen’ Lizzy said as she walked away

‘I take it you come here a lot’ Tom said with a chuckle, remembering back to when he took her to his favorite restaurant on their first date and she said something similar to him.

‘Yeah. My dad and I have come here for breakfast a few times a month since I was about 16. His friend, Ben, owns it. Ellen is his wife and Katie is their daughter’

Just as Lizzy finished telling him that a woman about the same age as Lizzy came over with 2 glasses of water.

‘Hey girl! What are you doing here? Where’s your dad?’ she asked as she set the water down, she then glanced over at Tom ‘And _who_ is this? Is this the guy from London you were telling me about?’

‘Dad’s at home and yes, this is Tom. Tom, this is Katie’

‘Pleased to meet you Tom’ she said as she brought her hand to her pregnant belly ‘and _this_ is Charlotte’

‘OH! It’s a girl! When did you find out?’ Lizzy said excitedly.

‘Tuesday. We’re _very_ excited. 3 boys and now a little girl. We can _stop_!!’ she said with a giggle ‘Do either of you want coffee?’

‘Yeah, I’d love some’ Tom replied and Lizzy nodded yes.

‘I’ll give guys a couple minutes to look over the menu and be back with your coffee’ she said as she walked away.

‘So, what’s good here?’ Tom said as he looked at the menu

‘Everything. But my 2 favorites are the Corned Beef Hash and the Eggs Benedict’

‘Which are you going to have?’

‘Mmmm… I think I’m going to have…… The Corned Beef Hash’

‘Then I will try the Eggs Benedict’ he said with a smile.

After they finished breakfast they headed back to Lizzie’s, but first stopped off to pick up a few movies and some snacks. When they got back home they both put their pajamas back on before curling up on the couch together. They watched a few movies in the living room before deciding to curl up in bed to continue their movie marathon. Lizzy rested her head on his chest as he ran his fingers through her hair. As the movie played on she could feel Tom start to fall asleep. She looked up and he was completely out. She sat up a bit and glanced at her watch, it was a little after 3p. 

She stood and walked to the end of the bed, grabbed the throw that was there and pulled it up over Tom. Lizzy stood and looked at him for a moment. She still couldn’t believe that this beautiful man, with his even more beautiful soul, was a part of her life. She leaned down and gave him a soft kiss on his forehead before turning and leaving the room. As she walked through the living room she picked up her cell phone and dialed Iris’ number.

_‘Hi, sweetie’_ Iris said when she answered _‘how are you today?’_

‘I’m good, just wanted to call and thank you again for my birthday party last night. It was a lot of fun’

_‘Oh, you’re more than welcome. So, what have you and lover boy been up to today?’_

‘I took him out to breakfast this morning, then we came home and we’ve just been watching movies all day. He fell asleep during the last one, so I’m going to start dinner before he wakes up’ Lizzy answered

_‘What are you going to make?’_

‘Baked Ziti. It’s the only thing I have all the ingredients for without having to go to the store’

_‘Oooo Yum! Good choice, I love your Ziti!’_ Iris said _‘So, what’s Tom going to be doing everyday while you’re at work?_

‘I’m actually off the next two weeks. I called Rob yesterday and asked. He called me back this morning and said I could’

_‘Nice!’_

‘Yeah. So, last night we were lying in bed and Tom asked me if I would go to the LA premiere with him’ Lizzy told her as she started gathering what she needed to cook from the fridge and cupboards

_‘That’s great! You’re gonna go, right?’_

‘I don’t know yet, I told him I’d think about it’

_‘What’s there to think about? Go and have fun!’_

‘There’s going to be a lot of people there, and cameras, and it freaks me out a little just thinking about it’

_‘Lizzy, I really think you should go. I think you would have a lot of fun_ ’ Iris said with a reassuring tone on her voice _‘Plus, I think you’ll need to get used to going to them’_

‘What do you mean?’ Lizzy asked

_‘Oh, come on. You love him, he loves you. You plan on being with him for a long time right? So, you should probably get used to going to them now’_

‘Yeah, I guess, but I still need to think about it a bit.’ Lizzy replied ‘I better go start cooking. I’ll call you later’

_‘Okay. Talk to you later’_

Lizzy hung up her phone, pre-heated the oven, and stared putting everything together. This was one of the few dishes she made that used a jarred sauce, she usually preferred to make her own from scratch and really wished she had some in her freezer to use, she did add a few extra herbs and spices to make it taste a little more homemade. 

As the sauce simmered she cut some mozzarella cheese and drained her pasta. She pulled her casserole dish out and began layering the sauce, pasta and cheese. She sprinkled some shredded mozzarella on top and covered it in foil before she put it on the oven to finish cooking. Once she cleaned up a bit she made herself a cup of tea and sat on the couch with her book. After about 45 minutes she set her book down and went back into the kitchen to make a salad. Before she started she took the foil off of the Ziti so the cheese could brown. She stood at the counter slicing a cucumber she heard the bedroom door open, Tom soon walked into the kitchen and stood beside her.

‘It smells wonderful in here. What are you making?’ he asked

‘Baked Ziti, and a salad’

‘Need help with anything?’ he asked

‘Um… do you want to set the table?’

‘Sure, where is everything?’

‘Plates are in that cupboard and utensils are in that drawer there’

‘How long was I asleep?’ he asked as he grabbed the plates.

‘Just a little over an hour and a half’

‘You should have woken me, I would have helped you cook’

‘I wanted to let you sleep. You looked so peaceful’ she answered as she pulled the Ziti out of the oven and set it on the counter. She let it sit for a few minutes while she added the cucumber and some tomatoes to the salad and tossed everything together. She picked up the bowl to take it to the table, Tom came back into the kitchen and took it from her.

‘Dressing?’ he asked

‘In the door of the fridge. There’s ranch, blue cheese, and a raspberry walnut vinaigrette.’

‘Which do you want?’

‘Um…. I’ll take the vinaigrette’

She grabbed a serving spoon and the Ziti and set them on the table. She then turned to the cupboard on the wall behind the table and pulled out a bottle of wine, a corkscrew, and two glasses.

‘Allow me’ Tom said taking the bottle and corkscrew from her. Lizzy set the glasses on the table as she sat down, she spooned some Ziti and salad onto both plates as Tom opened and poured the wine. Before he sat he leaned down and gave Lizzy a kiss on her cheek.

‘I hope you like it’ Lizzy said as he sat.

‘If it tastes as good as it smells, I like it already’ he replied, picking up some ziti with his fork and brought it to his mouth. Lizzy watched him, this was the first time she had cooked for him and was nervous he wouldn’t like it, 

‘Mmm, this is really good!’ he said as scooped up some more.

‘I’m glad you like it’ Lizzy said with a smile as she also took a bite.

‘So’ Tom said as he took a sip of wine ‘What are we doing tomorrow?’

‘Well I have an idea, but it might seem a little… _corny_ ’

‘What’s the idea?’

‘Um… I want to take you down to Tacoma, they have a Zoo and Aquarium that is a lot of fun’

‘Why would that be corny? I think it would be great, I can’t remember the last time I’ve gone to either’ Tom said with a huge smile on his face.

‘Yeah? Great. I haven’t actually been there in about 5 years, the last time was when I went with my niece's’ class as a chaperon so I didn’t really get to look around very much, plus I’ve heard they have done a lot of remodeling’

‘Sounds great! What time should we go?’

‘Well, it opens at 9a, but we don’t have to get there _right_ when it opens.So I was thinking about leaving here around 9:30a, that way we should miss the commuter traffic’ Lizzy said with a smile.

‘Can’t wait!’

After they finished eating Tom helped Lizzy clean up and put things away. When all that was done Lizzy went into the bedroom to get the movie that they had been playing when Tom fell asleep.  They curled up on the couch together and finished watching before calling it a day and heading to bed. 

Just before 2.30a Tom’s cell phone started ringing, waking them both up.

‘Huh? Ugh….. Sorry, thought I turned the ringer off’ he said as he reached over Lizzy to get his phone from the nightstand. He looked at the screen, it was his agent’s number.

‘Hello? Yes…….. What?…… Um, do you know what time it is?…… No, I’m 8 hours _behind_ not ahead………… H-hold on a moment. Liz, it’s my agents temp, they were wondering if they could get your address so they can send me a script they want me to look at. Is it okay if I give it to them?’

‘Of course’ she replied, through a yawn. Tom gave the woman on the phone her address, hung up and curled back up beside Lizzy.

‘Sorry about that, his regular assistant is on holiday and the temp he has thought that Seattle was 8 hours ahead of London, not behind.’

‘It’s ok. No harm done’ she said as she snuggled up to the nape of his neck. It didn’t take them long to fall back to sleep.

As Lizzy woke the next morning she found herself looking into the beautiful blue jewels of Tom’s eyes and smiled.

‘Good morning’ he said with a huge smile on his face.

‘Morning’ she stretched her arms above her ‘what time is it?’

Tom looked over her at the clock on the nightstand. ‘It’s a little after 7’

‘You’re up early’ Lizzy yawned, ‘ Were you watching me sleep?’

‘Yeah’

‘Um… why?’

‘Because you look so peaceful and beautiful when you sleep. I love seeing your eyes flutter as you dream.’ Lizzy smiled and felt her cheeks grow warm ‘I made coffee, would you like a cup?’

‘Um, maybe in a bit. I think I’m going to take a shower first’ she replied as she sat up.

After she showered and dressed she and Tom had a quick breakfast before getting in the car to head down to Tacoma. It took a little longer to get there then Lizzy had originally thought due to a couple of accidents that bottled up the freeway. It was just a little before noon when they got there, they stopped at the concession stand for hot chocolate before they started walking through the zoo. They spent the whole day walking around, taking pictures, and looking at all the animals and sea life. They even got a chance to ride on a Camel. Before they left they stopped and took a ride on the carousel, Lizzy picked a Polar bear and Tom got on the Wolf next to it.

 As the carousel went around Tom reached over and grabbed Lizzie’s hand and gave it a gentle kiss. When it came to a stop Tom stood beside Lizzy, who was still on her polar bear, and held out her camera in front of them. A women who was there with her husband and kids offered to take the picture for them and Tom handed her the camera before wrapping his arms around Lizzy. They thanked her and looked at the pictures they had taken throughout the day as they walked away from the carousel.

It was a little after 5p when they left the zoo and Lizzy knew that traffic on the freeway would be a nightmare so she headed to a near-by restaurant to grab some dinner. They sat outside on the deck, watching the boats as they ate, they also talked about getting together with Iris and Eric while Tom was here. Lizzy sent a text to Iris and she promptly replied with a yes, the 4 of them would go out to dinner Friday evening, Lizzy couldn’t wait. When they got home she made reservations at one of the nicest restaurants she could think of. 

After all the arrangements were made Tom grabbed a bottle of wine and a couple glasses while Lizzy popped in a movie. Tom handed her a glass as he sat next to her on the couch, resting his hand on her leg. She placed her hand on his and gently ran her fingertip along the veins on back of his hand as the movie played. After the movie ended Lizzy placed their glasses in the sink and they headed to bed.

As they snuggled together in bed Lizzy asked Tom if he’d be up for going out again tomorrow and they decided to head downtown to visit the Seattle Center and Pike Place Market. Once that was decided, Tom placed kisses to her neck as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.


	7. **Out and About**

In the morning Tom went for a run while Lizzy showered and made breakfast. After Tom showered and changed, they sat down and had their breakfast before heading out the door, walking the short distance to the bus stop.

‘I hope you don’t mind us taking the bus today. Parking Downtown can be a bit of a hassle, and get expensive _really_ fast.’ Lizzy said as they stood at the stop waiting for the bus.

‘I don’t mind at all, I take public transportation all the time in London’ he replied. ‘Sometimes it’s just easier, and a lot less stressful, than having to deal with traffic and parking.’

‘Plus it keeps me from buying too much. Anytime I think about buying something I have to ask myself _‘do I really want to carry that on the bus?’_ and I usually end up walking away from it’ she added with a laugh as the bus pulled up.

It was just after 10a and most commuters were already at work so the bus wasn’t too crowded. They sat near the center of the bus, Tom next to the window, and Lizzy pointed out some sights as they went. There also wasn’t much traffic so it didn’t take long to get to where they were going, they disembarked the bus and walked toward their first destination of the day; The Space Needle. Before they went to get tickets to the observation deck Tom snapped some pictures with his camera, once they were on the observation deck Lizzy started pointing out different places around the city as Tom took more pictures. They stayed up there for almost an hour, before they left Tom and Lizzy stood with Mt. Rainier behind them and took a picture together. When Lizzy looked at the picture it instantly became her favorite because it had 2 of her favorite things in it; the city she grew up in and loved, and the man she was beginning to love even more.

Tom took a few more pictures of the city as they rode the elevator down from the observation deck and walked the short distance to the monorail station. It only took the monorail a few minutes to go from the station at the Seattle Center to the station at the top floor of the Westlake Center. Lizzy and Tom made their way down to the street and started walking down Pine St. toward Pike Place Market. As they walked down the street Tom wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her temple. 

When they got to the market Tom took some more picture of the two of them, including one of them in front of the giant Public Market sign, a kiss pressed to her lips. Lizzy and Tom wandered the market for a couple hours, weaving in and out of all the shops, sampling some of the local fruits and vegetables, and delicious jams and honeys. Tom bought a few of the jams and honeys as gifts for his family and friends back in London. He even added a contribution to the Gum Wall in Post Alley. Lizzy snapped a few pictures of him as he did, she loved the look on his face, part fun and part disgust.

‘When you first told me about the Gum Wall I thought you were joking, but this is…… _impressive_ ’ he said as they walked down the alley away from the wall ‘and just a bit gross!’

‘What can I say, We Seattleites are a refined bunch’ she said jokingly as she led Tom over to a very small stall not far from the gum wall, 

‘These are _THE_ best mini donuts ever! I was thinking we could grab some and coffee, and then go sit over at the park that overlooks the waterfront’ she said as they approached the stand.

‘Sounds like a plan’ Tom replied. Lizzy ordered a dozen of the Fancy donuts, cake donuts with chocolate icing and sprinkles, and 2 lattes. The pair then walked through the market and sat on a bench at the park.

‘This is an _amazing_ view’ Tom said as took a sip of his latte and popped a donut in his mouth ‘Mmmm, and these are _really_ good’

‘Yeah, I like it here. Iris and I used to come here all the time in high school. We’d get some donuts and coffee and just chat for hours.’ Lizzy said. ‘She and Eric actually met here the summer before sophomore year. He was just over there playing Frisbee with some friends and it hit her in the back of the head, he came over to apologize and they started flirting with each other. He asked for her number but she didn’t give it to him because her parents didn’t really want her dating yet. Then on the first day of school he walked into our homeroom, saw her, sat down next to her and they’ve been together ever since.’

‘That’s sweet, a little like us.’ Tom said ‘I sat down with you at the restaurant and we’ve been together pretty much ever since’

Lizzy looked at Tom, who had a huge smile on his face, and then kissed his cheek before resting her hand on his knee and her head on his shoulder. Tom wrapped his arm around her shoulder, leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss on the head. They sat and watched the ferries and container ships on the sound, just happy to be with one another.

‘I was thinking, instead of going out to dinner tonight, how about I make something?’  
  
‘Sure’ Lizzy replied. ‘What would you like to make?’

‘Well, I saw all the fresh fish and vegetables here, how about some Salmon with vegetables and roasted potatoes?’

‘That sounds amazing’

Tom and Lizzy headed back into the market and picked out some fresh veggies, lemons, rosemary, garlic, and fingerling potatoes from a couple different stands and then headed over to look at fish. Tom picked out a very nice salmon from the Pike Place Fish Market, after he had chosen it the men that worked there asked him if he’d like to go behind the counter and catch it, Tom excitedly said yes and headed behind the counter while Lizzy got out her camera. They showed Tom where to stand and explained the best way to catch the fish. One of the men went back out in front of the stall with the salmon in hand and prepared to throw it to him. 

 _‘Are you recording?’_ he mouthed to Lizzy, she nodded _yes_. A sizable crowd had gathered, as it always does when the fish start flying. The men started shouting something that Lizzy couldn’t make out, it made her laugh even more then she already was and then the fish went flying, right into Tom’s hands. He held the fish above his head and yelled _‘WHOOOOO!!!!’_ as the people in the crowd cheered. Tom washed his hands as they wrapped the fish and put it in a bag, Tom paid and then thanked and shook hands with the men that worked there. The crowd had started to disperse as Tom walked back toward Lizzy,

‘That was _so_ much fun!’ he said as he took some of the bags she was holding, it dawned on him just how much they had to carry, some of it a bit heavy, ‘Um, maybe we should get a cab back?’ he said as they walked back through the market.

‘I think that’s a good idea’ Lizzy replied. As they were walking someone came up to Tom, tapping him on the arm.

‘Excuse me sir?’ he and Lizzy turned around to see a couple girls, probably in their early 20’s ‘But, um….. We were wondering… um…. are you Tom Hiddleston?’ one of them asked. 

‘Um, Yes. I am’ he replied, a little hesitantly.

‘Oh, my god! Wow!! Can we have your autograph _PLEASE_!!’ the other girl asked ‘and maybe a picture?’ she added.

Lizzy smiled and took the bags that he was holding so he could sign their notebooks, he then took a picture with each of them. She looked around and saw a few more people heading toward them.

‘Why are you in Seattle? Are you filming a movie?’ one of them asked,

‘No, I’m on holiday. I’m visiting a very good friend that lives here’ Tom replied, giving a wink in Lizzie’s direction as he signed a few more autographs and took a few more pictures, Lizzy smiled as she watched him interact with his fans.

‘You’re _‘Mystery Woman’_ aren’t you?!?’ one girl said to Lizzy, she glanced over at Tom and saw him looking at his phone.

‘Um…..’ Lizzy was a little shocked at the question ‘Yeah. I… I guess I am.’

‘Can I take your picture too?’ she asked Lizzy, as she raised her phone.

‘Um…. I don’t think so. We need to be going before our fish goes bad’ Tom said putting his phone back in his pocket ‘it was nice meeting you all’ 

He then took some of the bags and put his arm around Lizzie’s shoulder and they started walking away, quickly. 

‘Where can we get a cab?’ Tom asked.

‘Oh, um…. up the block’ 

‘Sorry about that, I thought it would be best if we got out of there’ Tom said when they got into the cab. ‘I saw a lot more people heading our way, and then my phone went off and I saw this’

Tom pulled his phone from his pocket again and handed it to Lizzy.

_“OHMYGAWD!!! twhiddleston IS @ PIKE PLACE MARKET RIGHT NOW!!!!”_

_“SRSLY!! twhiddleston is HERE!!! Right NOW!!!! With his ‘Mystery Woman!!!”_

There were a bunch of tweets that mentioned Tom being at the market within the last couple of minutes, and all of them had dozens of likes and retweets.

‘I don’t really mind it for myself, but you’re not used to this type of thing and I didn’t want them thinking it was okay to start taking your picture and plastering it all over the internet’

‘I appreciate that Tom.’ Lizzy replied as she handed him his phone back. As the cab drove on Lizzy couldn’t help but think about what happened at the market and thought that maybe it was time to let their relationship go public. She didn’t want to be the reason Tom had to turn away his fans, she knew how much they meant to him. She didn’t want him to think he had to ‘protect’ her from them

When they got back to the house there was a delivery slip taped to the front door; _“Sorry we missed you. We will try again between 5p-8p. We will require a signature upon delivery”_

Lizzy glanced at her watch, ‘Good timing, it’s almost 5p’

They went inside and started getting ready to make dinner. Tom put away the things they didn’t need while Lizzy grabbed some bowls, baking sheets and other things from the cupboards and set them on the counter.

‘Okay,’ Tom said as he pulled the wrapped salmon from its bag, ‘cutting board and knife?’ Lizzy grabbed him both, she also grabbed a cutting board and knife for herself, then grabbed the vegetables and lemons 

‘What do you think you’re doing with those?’ he asked.

‘Um, I think I’m helping you make dinner’ 

‘No you’re not. I’m making dinner for _you_. Now go sit in the living room and let me work my magic’

‘ _Seriously_? You’re not going to let me help you?’

‘Just tell me where the aluminum foil or parchment paper, spices and olive oil all are and then scoot’

Lizzy giggled, ‘Okay, um, parchment paper is in the cupboard above the coffee maker and spices and olive oil are in that cupboard right there.’ She then slowly started walking out of the kitchen. Tom snapped a dish towel in her direction

‘I said scoot!’ he said in a demanding tone, with a huge smile on his face.

‘Okay, I’m….. scooting!!’ Lizzy walked into the living room, sat on the couch and grabbed the remote, but there was nothing on that she wanted to watch so she turned off the TV and picked up her book. After about 35 minutes there was a knock at the door, Lizzy walked over to answer it.

‘Miss Walker?’ asked the delivery man at the door

‘Yes’

‘Sign here please’ he said as he handed her a clipboard and pen.

‘Here you go’ Lizzy signed and was then handed a large padded manila envelope. 

‘Thank you’ She said as he walked away and got into his truck. Lizzy turned and walked back toward the kitchen. 

‘Your script just got here’ she told Tom.

‘ _Hey!_ Out of the kitchen!’ Tom said as she stood in the doorway, Tom walked over and stood in front of her, blocking her view. Lizzy smiled, shook her head and turned to walk away. When Tom turned to go back to cooking Lizzy quickly turned back around and pinched his butt before heading back into the living room. 

‘ _Oi!_ No groping the cook!’

A little more time went by and Tom yelled from the kitchen, ‘Hey Liz, do you have another bottle of wine. I used up the little bit that was left making dinner and wanted to have a glass with the meal?’

‘There should be another bottle in there’ she replied

‘Nope, couldn’t find one.’ Tom poked his head out of the kitchen ‘Um…. would you mind going and getting a bottle? Dinner will be ready shortly and a nice Riesling or Moscato would go really well with this’

‘Yeah, I’ll go grab one.’ Lizzy replied as she stood and grabbed her purse and coat, ‘Do we need anything else?’

‘Um, not that I can think of’

‘Okay, I’ll be right back’

Lizzy was gone about 30 minutes, when she came back in the house seemed a little dark,  
  
‘Tom? Did the power go out?’ she walked toward the dining room and found that Tom had set the table beautifully, complete with candles and the flowers they got at the market. Tom then emerged from the kitchen wearing a button down shirt, tie, and suit jacket.

He walked over to her and reached for her coat ‘Good Evening Miss, May I take your coat?’

‘Oh, yes. Thank you sir’ Tom took her coat and the grocery bag. He then pulled out her chair and motioned for her to sit, as she did she noticed that there was already a bottle of wine on the table. He draped her coat over the back of the couch and disappeared into the kitchen. He soon re-emerged from  carrying two plates of food, setting one in front of her and the other in front of his chair. He then reached for the bottle of wine and poured them both a glass. 

‘So, I see that we didn’t _actually_ need a bottle of wine.’

‘No. I just needed to get you out of the house for a bit while I set this up’ 

‘I feel a bit underdressed. You have on a nice shirt and tie and I’m sitting here in jeans and a t-shirt’

‘Oh, I still have on my jeans, just threw this on for ambiance.’ Tom told her ‘Plus you’re actually better dressed than I am, _you_ have shoes on’ he added. Lizzy looked down and saw that Tom just had on a pair of socks.

‘That’s very uncouth of you sir. Coming to such a fine restaurant in socks’ Lizzy said jokingly, Tom laughed. ‘This looks and smells amazing. Thank you _so_ much for all of this’

‘You’re more than welcome’ Tom leaned down and gave Lizzy a kiss before he sat, ‘Now, let’s eat before it gets cold.’

Lizzy looked at the wonderful meal that Tom had set before her. A beautifully baked salmon filet topped with a white wine and rosemary cream sauce. Steamed asparagus and herb roasted potatoes.

‘Oh my god, this is delicious!’ Lizzy exclaimed as she tasted what Tom had prepared ‘okay, you’re so doing all the cooking from now on’ she added, Tom chuckled. They chatted all through dinner, when they were finished Lizzy stood and reached for Toms plate, he stood to take it from her

‘No, you cooked, I’m cleaning up. Sit back down’ she said, Tom sat down as she walked into the kitchen. She set the plates in the sink and grabbed the grocery bag Tom had taken from her and pulled out a jumbo chocolate brownie she picked up for dessert. She set it on a plate and put it in the microwave for a few seconds while she grabbed some ice cream from the freezer.

‘What are you doing in there?’ Tom asked from the dining room

‘Getting dessert’ 

Lizzy came back carrying the brownie and ice cream and 2 spoons. ‘It’s not as fancy as your dinner, but it’s chocolate so I think it’ll do’ she said, setting down the plate and handing Tom a spoon. They had eaten about half of it when Lizzy set down her spoon

‘So, I’ve been thinking that maybe…… it’s time that we go public with our relationship. I mean, if _you_ want too’

‘Of course I want to, but why now?’ Tom asked.

‘Well, because of what happened at the Market today. I know how much you love your fans and I know it must have been hard to just walk away from them. I don’t want to be the reason you walk away.’

‘Okay, how would you like to go about _‘going public’_?’ Tom asked

‘Hmmm…..’ Lizzy thought for a moment ‘ _Oh!_ Give me your phone, please’ she said holding out her hand. Tom had a look of confusion on his face as he reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone and set it in her hand. ‘Thank you.’ 

Lizzy opened his twitter and typed out a quick message, she then attached one of the pictures of them in front of the Market sign from his photo album. 

‘Here. I didn’t send it, I want you to’ she said, handing him back his phone. Tom looked down at his phone and smiled at the picture and what Lizzy had written;

_“Mystery Woman, aka Elizabeth, showing me around Seattle”_

‘Are you _absolutely_ sure? Once I post this there’s _no_ going back, your face will be out there for _millions_ of people to see.’

‘I don’t want to go back.’ Lizzy brought her hand up and placed it on his cheek ‘I just want to go forward.’ 

She then leaned over and gave him a deep, long kiss. Their lips parted and Lizzy looked into his eyes and smiled.

‘Okay, I’ll send it’ Tom replied. He looked back at his phone and sent the tweet.

Lizzy exhaled ‘I kind of feel a weight has been lifted. I think it was a good thing to do that before we’re seen together in LA’

‘ _LA??_ When did you decide to come to LA??’

‘Um, just now’ Lizzy laughed

‘That’s great. I can’t wait for you to meet some of my friends and see everything! It’s going to be great!’ Tom said excitedly as he wrapped his ares around her

They finished up dessert and Lizzy set the plate and spoons in the sink while Tom went into the living room, he picked up the envelope that arrived earlier and started looking at the script he had been sent. While he read the script Lizzy sat the other end of the couch, her feet folded under her and her back against the armrest, reading her book, or at least trying too. She was really just staring at Tom.

Watching him was one of her favorite things to do, she had started to memorize the little movements made. Resting his thumb under his jaw while he ran his index finger along his top lip. Placing his hand on his neck and slowly bringing his fingers together, gently pulling at the skin on his neck. But her favorite was when he licked his lips, then slowly drug his teeth over his bottom lip. She could watch him do that for hours.

‘How’s the book?’ Tom asked, breaking the silence.

‘Oh… um…. it’s… it’s good! Yeah’ Lizzy stammered

‘Really?’ he said as he turned his head to look at her ‘Because you haven’t turned a page in over half an hour.’

‘Um…..’ Lizzy could feel her face grow warm from embarrassment and she buried her face in her book. Tom just started laughing as he leaned over and touched her knee. Lizzy looked up over her book and into Tom’s smiling eyes and couldn’t help but smile at him. He moved across the couch, closer to her, his hand slid up her thigh and rested on her hip. Both her book and Tom’s script fell to the floor as he moved even closer and brought his lips to her neck, she wrapped her arms around his neck and her fingers twisted in his hair as his other hand made its way under her shirt.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As they laid in bed facing each other Tom stroked Lizzy’s earlobe and kissed her forehead, Lizzy ran her fingers through the hair at the back of his head.

‘Would you mind if we stay in tomorrow so I can read that script?’

‘No, not at all.’ Lizzy replied ‘You’re going to be here for another week, we don’t have to do everything at once’

‘Thanks’

Lizzy kissed him and then rolled over onto her other side, Tom cuddled up close to her and wrapped his arm around her. Lizzy rested her arm on top of his 

‘Mmmm…… I could stay like this forever’ she whispered

‘So could I’ 


	8. **To go or not to go**

The next morning Tom went for his morning run while Lizzy slept, she woke around 7a just before he got back. She walked into the kitchen to pour herself a cup of coffee and make some toast, she didn’t hear Tom come in, or walk up behind her. He tip-toed into the kitchen, sneaked up behind her, and then started tickling her sides.

‘ _Tom!_ Oh my god, you scared me!’

Tom chuckled a little, ‘I’m sorry Darling, I just couldn’t resist.’ He said as he wrapped his arms around her and started kissing her neck. Lizzy turned in his arms and kissed him deeply

‘Okay, you’re forgiven’ she whispered against his mouth

 ‘I should go take a shower, I’m starting to smell a bit’

‘Mmmmm…… You always smell good to me’

Tom chuckled and playfully pinched Lizzy on the ass as before he turned to head to the bathroom. After his shower he settled down on the couch with his script again while Lizzy started on some house work. She cleaned the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom, remade the bed, picked up some of her clothes that didn’t make the hamper, and looked around for Tom’s but didn’t see any. 

She threw one of his suitcases on the bed and opened it, there wasn’t much in the case since Lizzy had made space in her drawers and closet so he wouldn’t have to live out of his suitcases, she found his travel laundry bag and emptied it into her hamper. She grabbed the hamper and headed for the basement to throw them in the washer. Tom glanced up as Lizzy walked past him and saw his clothes at the top of her hamper,

‘Uh, what are you doing with my clothes?’ he asked.

‘I’m going to wash them’

‘Why?’

‘Because you’ve been here since Friday and I thought you might be running low on clean socks and undies. Am I wrong?’

‘No. But I can take care of my own laundry’

‘Yeah, I know. But I need to do some of mine so I just thought I’d throw them in together’

‘Well thank you darling. Would you like some help with the hamper?’

‘No, I got it. Thank you though’ Lizzy bent down and kissed his forehead before heading toward the stairs. While she was sorting things her cell phone rang, she pulled it out of her pocket to answer it, it was Iris.

‘Hi sweetie’

_‘Oh my god, Lizzy! Why didn’t you tell me you and Tom were going to go public!!’_

‘Because we didn’t plan it, it just sort of happened’ Lizzy replied ‘Wait…..how do you know? Do you subscribe to Tom’s tweets?’

_‘Well yeah! And it went viral!! Haven’t you been online yet today?’_

‘No. I’ve been cleaning while Tom reads a script his agent sent him It went viral? Really?’

_‘Yeah, you should check it out. It has like over 50,000 likes and retweets!’_ Iris told her _‘But I want to warn you, there are some mean comments attached to more than a few of them’_

‘Well that doesn’t surprise me, remember what people were saying when the pictures from London came out, people like to bad mouth’

_‘There are a lot of really nice and sweet ones too’_ she added _‘Oh, my boss is walking this way, I have to get back to work. I’ll call you later.’_

‘Okay, bye’ Lizzy slipped her phone back in her pocket while finished loading and then started the machine. 

As she headed for the stairs she pulled out her phone again, she had been ignoring it all morning and just now checked her messages. She had about 20 unread text messages, all from friends that weren’t at her birthday, and co-workers, asking if that was her in the picture on the internet and if it was why she didn’t tell them she was dating Tom Hiddleston. 

Lizzy sat down on a step and opened her twitter, she couldn’t believe the number of times Tom’s tweet had been favorited & retweeted. She started to read some of the comments that people had written. Some of them were nice, but some were a little mean spirited, like Iris told her more than a few said things along the lines of

_“What’s he doing with that FAT COW!”,_   _“What could he possibly see in HER??”,_ and _“He looks RIDICULOUS with that fat ass!!”_

Lizzy tried not to take them to heart but as she read on it got a little harder. She just had to keep reminding herself that no matter what others thought or said about her she knew that Tom loved her. He had flown halfway around the world at a moment’s notice to be with _HER_ and that made her smile.

‘Liz?’ Tom called from the basement door ‘Are you alright? You’ve been down there for almost an hour?’ She didn’t respond, Tom walked down the stairs and stopped on the step behind her. He saw that she was looking at twitter and sat down, placing one leg on each side of her.   
  
‘So. You’ve seen it’

‘You’ve seen these?’

‘Yeah, Luke called me while I was out running and told me he had been getting a bunch of calls from some local radio stations wanting to know if I could to do interviews while I’m on town and then he told me about some of the comments.’

‘Well?’ Lizzy said.

‘ _Well_ what?’

‘Are you going to do any interviews while you’re here?’ She asked as she leaned her head back against his leg and looked up at him,

Tom leaned forward and gave her a kiss, ‘I don’t know. Do you think I should?’

Lizzy shrugged her shoulders, ‘That’s completely up to you’

‘I just ask because if I do they’re undoubtedly going to ask about you and I don’t want to do it if it’ll make you uncomfortable.’

Lizzy shrugged again, ‘That’s completely up to you’ she repeated.

Tom smiled and started to tickle her. ‘Come on, come back upstairs’

‘I’ll be right there, gotta put the clothes in the dryer.’

Tom stood and walked back upstairs as Lizzy walked over to throw the laundry in the dryer, she then headed back upstairs herself. When she got into the kitchen Tom was standing at the sink getting a glass of water. Lizzy walked up behind him, threw her arms around him and pressed her cheek against his back, hugging him tightly.

‘To what do I owe the pleasure of this’  he asked as he placed his hands over hers

‘I just felt like hugging you’ Lizzy whispered. Tom turned around to face her, her arms still around him.

‘I’ll never turn down a hug. _Especially_ from you’ Tom said as he kissed her forehead. They stood there in their embrace for a few minutes before heading into the living room, Tom continued reading his script while Lizzy read her book.

After about 45 min or so Tom’s phone rang, breaking the silence. Tom glanced at the screen before answering,

‘Hey Christian, how are you?…… Yeah, I’m reading it now…….’ As Tom talked on his phone Lizzy went back downstairs to get the laundry out of the dryer. When she came back Tom was still on the phone, she sat back down next to him and started folding them ‘…… I’ll call you back…… yeah. Bye’

‘So,’ Lizzy asked as she folded one of Tom’s shirts ‘when do you have to leave?’

‘What makes you think I have to leave?’ Tom said as he turned toward her, setting his phone on the arm of the couch.

‘Well, let’s see. Your agent sent you a script that he wanted you to see _right away_ , he just called to ask if you got it, _and_ if you’ve had a chance to read it. If you didn’t need to audition soon he could’ve just waited until you got back to London next week, instead of calling you at almost 8:30pm in London.’ Lizzy said as she picked up another shirt

‘Um, yeah, the actor that was cast had to back out and the director wants to recast as soon as possible.’ Tom explained as he stared at the script in his lap. ‘He’s seeing a few people on Tuesday and Wednesday and when he heard my movie broke for a while he asked Christian if I might be interested and that’s why he sent me the script.’

‘So…… when do you leave?’ she asked again

‘He wants me to fly back Friday evening, says there’s a flight at 5p.’ Tom looked over at Lizzy. ‘What do you think I should do?’

‘Um, _not_ ask me what you should do’ Lizzy replied

‘Why not?’

‘Because this is a decision that _only you_ can make.’ Lizzy put the shirt she was about to fold back in the hamper and turned her body toward Tom, 

‘Look. I don’t _want_ you to leave early, but if you like that script and want to go for it, then go for it. Like I said last night, I don’t want to be the reason you walk away. From your fans _or_ from a job.’ Tom looked back down at the script, drumming his fingers against it as Lizzy started folding again.

‘You’re _sure_ you won’t be upset if I decide to go?’  
  
Lizzy turned to him again, brought her hand to her chest and made an X over her heart ‘cross my heart’ she said with a smile. 

‘Although….. Iris might kill you for missing dinner Friday night’ she added with a laugh. Tom chuckled as he twisted his phone in his hands and looked down at the script. He sat like that for a while, lost in thought, while Lizzy resumed folding. 

When she finished she took everything into the room to put it away. Lizzy opened the drawers of the dresser and put some things in there before taking the rest over the closet and hanging them. When she finished she sat back down next to Tom, who was still sitting in the same spot, still looking at his script and still fiddling with his phone. Lizzy picked her book up and started reading where she left off.

‘I think…..’ Tom said, Lizzy looked up from her book ‘I’m going to….. Go back to London and audition for this part’

‘Okay’ Lizzy replied as she looked back at her book.

‘ _But_ , I’m going to tell Christian that I’ll fly back Sunday so I can still make dinner Friday night and have some more time with you before I leave.’

‘Okay’ she said again, not looking up from her book this time.

‘Would you still be saying _okay_ if I were leaving on Friday?’

‘Hmmmm…. probably’ she answered with a giggle, she then glanced at her watch, it was just after 2p here which meant it was just after 10p in London. ‘It’s getting pretty late, shouldn’t you call Christian back?’

‘Yeah’ Tom replied as he stood and walked toward the door, phone in hand.

‘Where are you going?

‘I’m just going to step outside while I call him’

‘Okay’ Lizzy said with a smile as he stepped through the door, Tom just smiled, pulling the door closed behind him.

While he was outside Lizzy went into the kitchen to get a snack. She grabbed a box of crackers and hopped up on the counter. After a few minutes Tom came back inside

‘Liz? Where are you?’

‘Kitchen’ she called out, after about a minute or so Lizzy heard music coming from the living room and Tom came dancing in and up to her. He grabbed her hands and she hopped off the counter ‘Tom…. Um… what are you doing?’ she asked as he led her into the living room.

‘While I was outside it dawned on me that you and I have never danced together. So I thought I’d correct that.’ He replied as he continued to dance in front of her, trying to get her to move along with him to the song that was playing, Shakira’s _‘Hips don’t lie’_.

‘Yeah. There’s a _really_ good reason for that, I don’t dance…… Correction, I _can’t_ dance.’ She replied as she walked along with the dancing fool in front of her.

‘Non-sense, everyone can dance’ he placed his hands on her hips and started trying to move her in time to him and the music.

‘No…. Not everyone. Not me.’ She replied with a giggle as she watched Tom trying to make her move along with him. ‘Especially not to this. My body _doesn’t_ move like that’

‘Oh, I beg to differ on that love’ he replied with a wink and a smirk, Lizzy playfully slapped his arm. ‘Eheheheh….. Okay, how about we try something slower then?’ he walked over to the stereo, picked up his iPod and started looking for a new song. After a bit of searching he finally selected one, a slower one. he picked up the remote, walked back, grabbed Lizzie’s hands and brought them to his lips, placing kisses on her knuckles, 

‘May I have this dance?’

‘You may’ Lizzy said with a giggle as she wrapped her arms around him. Tom pressed play on the remote and slipped it in his pocket. As the music started playing he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, holding her tightly. Lizzy smiled when she heard the song he picked, _‘Can’t help falling in love – By Elvis’_ Tom gave her a kiss on the forehead and they started swaying slowly to the music. Lizzy rested her cheek against his chest and ran her fingers through his hair, Tom’s hands started running up and down her back, slowly.

As the song played on Lizzy started to feel overcome by emotion, she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes and tried to hold them in, but she couldn’t. They started running down her face, at first Tom hadn’t noticed, not until he felt her take a shaky breath,

‘Liz? What’s wrong? Did I step on your feet?’ he asked her, Lizzy didn’t answer him, she just kept her eyes shut and let out a soft sob. He brought his hands up and cupped her face ‘Sweetheart, Look at me, please tell me why you’re crying.’

Lizzy sniffled, opened her eyes and stared into his, ‘I…. I don’t know…… I just couldn’t stop the tears….. I’m sorry’

‘You don’t have to apologize love, I just don’t want to see you cry’ he used his thumbs to wipe the tears from her cheeks, ‘Want me to try and cheer you up?’ Lizzy smiled and nodded, Tom lowered his head and kissed her cheek, followed by the other. He then ghosted his lips over hers before planting a trail of small kisses along her jaw and down her neck, Lizzy let out a soft moan as he kissed and space where her neck and shoulder met

‘Are you starting to feel better’ he asked, his voice barely above a whisper

‘Mmmm…. Yes…. Much better’

‘Well, how about we head to bed and I’ll make you feel _spectacular_ ’

‘Yes, please’

Tom brought his lips up and pressed them to hers, kissing her deeply before they headed toward the room.


	9. **Doubts**

Lizzy woke around 2a to get a glass of water, Tom was still sleeping soundly as she slowly slid out from under his arm and off the bed, she pulled her robe around her and tip-toed out of the room. Before going into the kitchen she flipped open her laptop to check her email and then made the mistake of checking what people were saying on twitter. For every message she saw saying they wished Tom and her happiness, there were at least 20 that bashed Lizzy and her appearance, saying that the only reason Tom was with her was as _‘something to do’_ until someone better/prettier came along. Lizzy couldn’t read anymore and closed her laptop, she let out a shaky breath, ran her hands over her face and walked into the kitchen.

As she stood at the kitchen sink sipping her water she couldn’t help but think back to the things she read and she tried to convince herself again that Tom loved her. 

_But why?_ He was tall and slim, athletic and talented, beautiful and confident, loved and wanted by so many. She was none of those, she worked in an office, had very little confidence and wasn’t at all outgoing. All of her relationships had ended because her boyfriend at the time had found someone better, someone prettier, someone……. _Thinner_. 

Lizzy turned and stared out the window and wondered how long it would be before he would do the same and a tear rolled down her cheek. She wasn’t sure how long she had been standing there and when she felt Tom’s arms wrap around her it startled her a bit and she jumped.

‘Sorry darling, I didn’t mean to scare you’ Tom whispered as he pressed a kiss to her neck ‘I woke up and you were gone. Is everything alright?’

‘Yeah……. I just got thirsty’ she replied as she held up her glass to Tom, when he took it from her she took the opportunity to wipe her face, thankful the room was dark so that he wouldn’t see. She turned and headed back to the bedroom and crawled back under the covers, Tom curling up behind her, his chest pressed against her back and his arm wrapped around her.

The next afternoon Lizzy took Tom out to lunch and to see the Fremont Troll. They wandered around the neighborhood most of the afternoon before heading home and curling up on the couch to watch movies again. The whole day those nagging questions pushed to the back of her mind. The two sat snuggled together in silence as the movie played on, Lizzy had lost all track of time and interest in the movie

‘Liz? Darling? Earth to Lizzy!’ Tom said as he picked up the remote and paused the movie

‘Hmmm? Sorry…..’ she said as she realized Tom had been talking to her ‘What did you say?’

‘I asked what time we were meeting Iris and Eric tomorrow night…. Is everything alright? You seem a little out of sorts’

‘Oh, yeah I’m fine, just tired I guess.’ she replied as she sat up a little ‘Um…. the reservation is at 7:30’

‘Are you sure everything is alright? You’ve been acting a little…. _off_ since last night’

‘Everything is fine, I promise.’ she said and she leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. ‘Like I said, I’m just tired. I think I’ll head to bed’ Lizzy stood and started toward the bedroom, Tom gently grasped her hand as she walked past him

‘You’d tell me if there were something wrong wouldn’t you’ Tom asked as he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb

‘Yes, of course’ Lizzy said with a smile on her face, but it was a lie. How could she tell this wonderful man that she was suddenly afraid that someday he would just walk out of her life? She leaned down and cupped his face, placing a kiss to his lips and Tom smiled as he rose from the couch. He picked up the remote and turned off the TV before he and Lizzy headed to bed.

Friday afternoon while Tom was on the phone with Luke and Christian making arrangements for his return to London on Sunday, Lizzy went through her closet looking for the perfect outfit for dinner tonight. She knew there was the possibility of no one recognizing him at the restaurant, but if they did she wanted to look like she belonged with him, even if she herself was starting to doubt that she did. 

She decided on a simple knee length blue dress that she had originally purchased a few years ago to wear to a wedding with an ex but they had broken up before she could wear it and it had been hanging in the back of her closet ever since. She tried it on and it still fit, she had forgotten that the neck line plunged as far as it did and chose to wear a black lace topped camisole underneath. She also picked her favorite pair of black heels and matching handbag.

At dinner the four sat and talked and laughed and had a great time. Just before dessert Iris and Lizzy excused themselves to go to the ladies room

‘Is everything alright with you?’ Iris asked as she touched up her lipstick

‘Yeah. Why?’

‘I don’t know, you just seem a little… quiet tonight. Like you’re not really enjoying yourself’

‘I’m fine, I promise. Just a little sad that Tom is leaving on Sunday’

‘Are you sure that’s _all_ that’s wrong?’

‘Yes, I’m sure’ Lizzy said as she headed to the bathroom door ‘now let’s get back out there before they think we ditched them’

‘Okay. But I’m _not_ dropping this, I know there’s something you’re not telling me’

Lizzy just laughed as they walked back to the table, knowing her friend really wouldn’t drop it, that she would eventually get her to tell her what was wrong.

After they had finished their dessert and paid the bill, which Tom insisted on doing when Eric reached for it, they all headed out to the valet station. As they waited for their cars they all said their good byes

‘Tom, it was great to see you again’ Eric said as he extended his hand to him ‘Wish you were going to be here longer, would have loved to take you for a round of golf. Next time’

‘Definitely! Looking forward to it’ Tom replied as he patted him on the shoulder, he then turned to Iris and gave her a hug, Iris and Eric’s car was the first to be brought up. They got in and drove away just as Lizzie’s car pulled up as well.

‘Mind if I drive?’ Tom asked as he opened the passenger side door for her

‘Not at all’ she said with a smile as she slid in. Most of the ride was spent in silence until Tom finally spoke

‘Are you going to tell me what’s going on with you?’

‘Nothing’s going on’

‘Liz. I _know_ something’s troubling you. You’ve been acting strange since the other night’ Lizzy stared out the window and fiddled with the clasp on her handbag, Tom reached over, grabbed her hand, and brought it to his lips, placing a gentle kiss to the back of her hand ‘ _Please_ talk to me’

‘I….um….. It’s just really hitting me that you’re leaving the day after tomorrow and I’m going to miss you is all’ she looked over at him as he drove, flashing a halfhearted smile as he glanced over at her for a moment. She hoped that he would believe it, it was the truth, just not the _whole_ truth

‘Darling, I’m going to miss you too. But we’ll see each other in LA in a few weeks’

‘I know. I guess I’m just a little nervous about that too’ Kate said as Tom pulled in her garage ‘I’m afraid I might do something to embarrass you’

Tom turned off the engine and shifted in his seat to face Lizzy ‘Why do you think you would do anything to embarrass me?’

‘Because I’m a klutz and I might trip and knock you down a flight of stairs or something, then fall down after you, land on you and break you’

Tom laughed a bit as he opened the door and got out. He walked over and opened Lizzy’s door and helped her out

‘Darling, that’s _not_ going to happen’ he said as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly ‘I promise’

Lizzy smiled and hugged him back, feeling better for a moment, but also wishing she had the courage to tell him what else was wrong with her. How she was really afraid of embarrassing him just by _being_ with him.

Tom took a step back and ran his hands down her arms, took her hands in his and brought them to his lips, ‘Now come on, let’s go to bed. I don’t know about you, but I’m beat’

‘So am I’

The two headed into the house and started getting ready for bed. Tom took off his shirt and threw it over the foot board of the bed as Lizzy stood at her dresser taking off her jewelry, he walked up behind her and drew down the zipper on her dress as he placed kisses down her neck and along her shoulder. Lizzy slowly pulled away from Tom and reached for her pajamas,

‘I’m just going to go and wash my face, I’ll be right back’

‘Don’t be too long’ Tom said with a wink as she slipped out the door.

She knew Tom was tired and that it would only take him a few minutes to fall asleep so she took her time washing her face and changing into her pj’s. She glanced down at her watch, it had been almost 15 minutes when she crept back into the room and sure enough Tom was sound asleep. He was laying on his back with one hand behind his head and the other rested on his stomach, she watched the steady rise and fall of his chest for a few moments before she turned and hung her dress back in the closet. She walked around to the other side of the bed and laid beside him, staring at his profile and thinking back to the first time she had gazed upon his beautiful sleeping face. She raised her hand to trace a finger along his cheekbone and stopped before she touched his face, remembering that the last time she did he woke. Instead she rolled over and switched off the bedside lamp before falling asleep.

Lizzy and Tom had spent Saturday sitting on the couch watching movies when Tom’s phone alerted him to a message from Luke, giving him the final details of his return to London. A car would pick him up at Lizzie’s house around 2pm and take him to the airport for his flight that was set to depart at 5pm. Originally Lizzy was going to drive him but Luke had found out that someone discovered his return plans and didn’t want any paparazzi that might be at the airport to spot her car and possibly find out where she lived, so the decision was made to get a car service to pick him up instead

Lizzy woke Sunday morning to find Tom had already gotten up, she could hear him moving around in the kitchen. She pulled on her robe and walked out of the room, his suitcases were all packed and waiting by the door. She walked over to the kitchen door and watched as Tom plated some eggs, bacon, toast, and fruit. He then picked up both plates and turned around and saw Lizzy standing there

‘Oh, good morning love’ he said as he walked over and stood in front of her, he lowered his head and gave her a kiss ‘I was just about to come and wake you. I made breakfast’

‘I see that. It smells wonderful, thank you’ Lizzy said as she reached for a plate

‘No, no, go sit down’

Lizzy smiled as she turned toward the table and sat. Tom placed a plate in front of her before turning and walking back in the kitchen, returning with a tray that had 2 cups of coffee and 2 glasses of orange juice. Lizzy added some cream and sugar to her coffee before taking a sip. The two ate breakfast in relative silence for most of the meal,

‘So. When are you going to tell me what’s _really_ wrong?’ Tom asked

‘Nothing to tell. Nothing’s wrong’

‘Liz. I know we haven’t known each other long, but I can tell that something is bothering you. _Please_ talk to me, tell me what it is’

Lizzy stared down at her plate and pushed her food around with her fork, trying to avoid looking at Tom, knowing if she did she might breakdown. Tom reached over and grasped her other hand

‘Please, talk to me. I don’t want to leave knowing that something is wrong’

‘I told you everything the other night. I’m going to miss you and I’m nervous about LA’ Lizzy paused and finally looked up at Tom ‘And I’m just feeling really tired, like I might be coming down with something’

‘You’re sure that’s all??’

‘I’m sure’ she said as she set down her fork and placed her hand over Tom’s ‘I think you just…. wore me out this week. A few good night’s sleep and I’ll be all better’

Tom flashed a half smile and stared at Lizzy for a few moments. After breakfast Tom started to clean up the kitchen, Lizzy tried to help him but he just kicked her out so she headed off to take a shower and get dressed. Once she was dressed they went out for one last walk around her neighborhood, when they got back to her house Tom sat on the couch and Lizzy curled up beside him, her head resting on his shoulder. Tom wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer, and Lizzy rested one of her hands on his thigh

‘I’m going to miss being able to touch you whenever I want’ Tom said as he lightly ran his fingertips up and down her arm

‘I’m going to miss you touching me too’

Tom picked up the hand she had on his thigh and brought it to his lips, placing a kiss to her knuckles then turned her hand over and kissed her palm, then her wrist. He continued placing kisses all the way up her arm, he stared into her eyes for a moment before he ghosted his lips over her, his breath tickling her skin

‘I’m going to miss your lips on mine, too’ he whispered before he claimed her mouth, his tongue dancing with hers

Lizzy brought her hand up and ran his fingers through his hair as Tom pulled her tighter against him. He pulled his lips from hers and started licking and nibbling her neck, Lizzy let out a soft moan and gently tugged at his hair as he started to push her back on the couch when there was a knock at the door

‘Shit’ Tom muttered as he sat back up and looked at his watch, it was a little after 2p

‘Is that your driver?’

‘I think so’ Tom said as he stood and walked over to the door

‘Mr. Hiddleston? I’m Paul. Sorry I’m late, there was an accident that backed up traffic on my way here

‘Hi Paul. No worries, hadn’t noticed actually’ Tom said as he shook his hand

‘Are these your bags sir?’

‘Yeah. Just take those 3 big ones and I’ll take the 2 small ones myself’

‘Yes sir’ Paul said as he grabbed the first two and heading out to the car when he came back for the 3rd he let Tom know that since he was late they should leave as soon as possible. Tom grabbed his coat from the back of the couch and threw it on before grabbing his 2 small bags. Lizzy walked out to the car with him and after he threw his bags on the back seat he turned and wrapped his arms around her

‘I love you and I’m going to miss you’ he said, placing a kiss to her forehead

‘I love you too’ Lizzy said with a sniffle ‘Promise me you’ll call when you get home’

‘I will. I’ll also make sure that Luke either calls or emails you everything you need to know for LA’

‘Okay’ Lizzy whispered as she placed her hands on his chest. Tom brought his hand up and placed it on her face, his thumb gently stroking her cheek before his kissed her deeply. Lizzy gripped his shirt in her fists, not wanting to let him go

‘Sir. I’m sorry but…..’

Tom pulled his lips from hers ‘Yeah…….. I’m coming’ he replied, breathlessly

Lizzy released his shirt, noticing the wrinkles she left from griping it so tightly. She ran hands over them trying to smooth them

‘Don’t worry about it’ Tom said, placing his hands on hers. He flashed her one last smile and gave her one more quick kiss before he turned and getting into the car. Paul closed the door and then ran around to the driver’s side, started the engine and pulled away.

Lizzy watched as the car disappeared around the corner before heading back into her house. She looked around for a moment, hoping that Tom was going to jump out and yell _‘surprise’_ but she knew that he wouldn’t. Even though he had only been there for a week her house now felt emptier than it ever had. She walked over, sat on the couch, and picked up the pillow that tom had been sitting against, she brought it to her nose and inhaled, smelling Tom’s colonge on it and smiled

After a few minutes of silence she heard her phone chime and quickly picked it up, it was a text from Tom

_‘I had an amazing time this last week My Love. Thank you so much for showing me around your beautiful city. I love you and I can’t wait to see you in LA!’_

Lizzy smiled and read the message a couple more times before pulling up the pictures she had on her phone as she continued to hug the pillow to her chest.


	10. **Meeting in LA**

_‘Please Darling! Why won’t you let me do this for you?’_ Tom asked as they spoke on the phone

‘Because I don’t want you to, that’s why! It’s _too_ much’

_‘No it’s not and I want to do it!! That way we can SEE each other when we talk!!’_

‘But I like my laptop, I don’t need a new one’

_‘But your webcam doesn’t even work and I would love to be able to see your beautiful face when we talk. At least think about it a little, Please’_

‘Okay, I’ll think about it’ Lizzy replied, she then glanced at the clock on her nightstand and noticed it was already almost 1am her time. ‘I should go. I have to work in the morning’

Tom let out a disappointed sigh, _‘Okay, I’ll talk to you later. I love you’_

‘I love you too’

_‘Oh wait!’_ Tom said just as she was about to end the call  _‘One more question before you go!’_

‘What?’

_‘What are you wearing?’_ he asked in a hushed voice

‘Tom!’

_‘What? I want to know, so later when I’m lying in bed I can think you while I wrap my ha…..’_

‘ _Thomas!_ You have such a dirty mind!’

_‘And that’s one of the things you love about me! Now. What are you wearing?’_

‘Are you alone right now?’

_‘Not entirely, I’m in a taxi on my way to a breakfast meeting with Christian’_

‘Then do you _really_ think it’s a good idea to ask me what I have on right now?’

_‘Probably not. But that’s what makes it fun’_

‘Goodnight Tom. I’ll talk to you later’ Lizzy said with a giggle

_‘Good night love’_

Lizzy turned off her phone and plugged it in before flipping off the lamp and pulling the covers around her. _  
_

***************************

_‘TOM! TOM! LOOK OVER HERE!! TOM!’_

Lizzy had never seen so many cameras in one place before, and all those flashes going off…. how was he not blind?! She stood to the side with Tom’s assistant as he walked the red carpet leading into the theater for his movies premier. He looked amazing, but then again he always looked amazing, it was impossible for this man to look bad! Lizzy couldn’t help but smile and be happy for him. Without warning Tom ran toward her and grabbed her hand, pulling her in front of the cameras with him

‘Tom! What do you think you’re doing?!’ She asked

‘Getting my picture taken with my girl!’ he replied as he placed a kiss to her cheek before turning back to the cameras ‘Smile darling!’

Lizzy took a deep breath and put a smile on her face, looking around at all the cameras that were now directly in front of her. But there was something different; no flashes, not a single flash went off, and now they were shouting else,

_‘TOM WHO’S THE FAT ASS? WE DON’T WANT HER PICTURE!  GET OFF THE CARPET, YOU’RE BLOCKING TOM!’_

Lizzy suddenly felt a hand grab her arm, pulling her away from Tom’s side, she looked to see who it was but only saw darkness. She looked back at Tom hoping that he was going to pull her back, but he just stood there, posing for the cameras as the flashing started again.

Lizzy turned again to try to find the person that pulled her away from Tom and when she did she found herself standing outside a set of glass doors looking in at Tom as he sipped a glass of champagne and threw his head back laughing. Lizzy tried to open the door, but it was locked, she knocked but no one looked her way. When she looked toward Tom again a statuesque woman wearing a slinky black dress that dipped dangerously low in the back walked up to him and ran a hand up his arm, he rested his hand at the small of her back, running his thumb back and forth over her exposed skin.

She brought her lips to his ear and whispered something, Lizzy saw a smile spread across his lips and he downed his champagne, the two then walked toward a door leading away from the crowd of people. Lizzy started to bang on the door harder and harder trying to get in, to get to Tom. She watched as him and the woman slipped through the door and just as it started to close she saw the woman wrap her arms around his neck and Tom lower his head, his lips meeting hers.

‘Tom……..’ Lizzy whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek. Finally someone came to the door and opened it just enough for her to hear them say four words……..

_‘You don’t belong here’_

Lizzie’s eyes popped open and she turned to look at the clock on the nightstand, 4:47am. It was the same dream she had been having almost every night since Tom left. They changed a little, but they all seemed to end the same, someone telling her that she didn’t belong there. She couldn’t help but think it was her subconscious telling her she didn’t belong with Tom.

‘You should _totally_ let him buy you a new laptop!’ Iris said as they sat at lunch a couple days later

‘Why?’

‘Because yours is a dinosaur! I’m surprised it still works!’

‘It works….. fine. If anything goes wrong with it I take it to the IT guy at work and he fixes it for me’

‘Oh come on!! He offering to buy you a _brand_   _new laptop!_ You could get one of the best ones out there, I’m sure he won’t mind how much it costs’

‘He told me he wouldn’t mind and that’s one of the reasons I _don’t_ want him to buy me one’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I just…… I don’t want people, especially him, thinking that I’m with him for his money or the things he gives me’

‘No one is going to think that Lizzy, especially him!’

‘Yes they will!’

‘How will anyone even _know_ he bought you a new computer?’

‘Um……. I…..don’t know ’

‘ _Exactly_. Let him buy you one if he wants too! Let him buy you whatever the hell he wants to buy you.’

‘I just don’t want anyone to…..’

‘No Lizzy, just stop. If your _boyfriend_ wants to give you something, don’t say no to it just because you’re afraid of what some _jealous fans_ might say. They’re just a bunch of nameless faceless _assholes_ hiding behind their keyboards. It’s nobody’s business anyway.’

‘You really think his fans are jealous? Of me?

‘Hell yeah I do’ Iris replied loudly, getting some looks from fellow diners. She lowered her voiced before she continued ‘You’re dating one of _the_ hottest men on the planet! How could they _not_ be jealous!’

A few days later Lizzy sat on the plane to LA, getting more and more nervous the closer they got to landing. Once they did Lizzy stayed in her seat, staring out the window and watching the workers outside unload the luggage, waiting for everyone else to disembark. She started to wonder if she could convince the flight attendants to let her stay on the plane and just go back to Seattle with them.

‘Miss. I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to exit the plane so we can get it ready for the next flight’

Lizzy looked up and noticed that the plane was completely empty

‘Oh! I’m _so_ sorry! I guess I just spaced out’ she said as she stood and retrieved her carry-on bag and made her way to baggage claim.

‘Miss Walker?’ a woman’s voice said from behind her as she lifted her suitcase off the conveyor belt

‘Um…. yes?’ Lizzy said as she turned and saw a petite woman standing behind her

‘Hello. I’m Heather, Luke Windsors assistant, he sent me to pick you up’

‘Oh! Hi, I wasn’t aware that anyone was picking me up’

‘How did you think you were getting to the hotel? A taxi?’ Heather said with a chuckle

‘Yeah, I did’

‘Nonsense. Is this all your luggage or is there more?’

‘No, this is it’

The man standing behind Heather moved and reached for her bag, ‘Oh and this Jake, he’ll take your bags and drive us to the hotel’

As the car drove along Lizzy looked out the window at the passing scenery, she wasn’t completely sure why she was suddenly so nervous about seeing Tom again, but her stomach was doing cartwheels.

‘Mr. Hiddleston wanted to come along to meet you but he has quite a few interviews today’ Heather said, breaking the silence. It wasn’t too much longer before they pulled up in front of the hotel and then standing in front of the door to Tom’s suite. Heather swiped the key card, pushed open the door, and motioned for Lizzy to go in ahead of her. When she stepped in and looked around she was amazed at not only the beauty of it, but also the size, it seemed more like a small apartment than a hotel room.

‘The master bedroom is to the left, there is a kitchenette, dining room, and seating area to the right.’ Heather said as Jake carried her suitcase and carry on into the bedroom ‘and there is another smaller bathroom just over there. Feel free to order whatever you would like from room service, and I hear the spa services here are _amazing_. The hotel knows you’re staying here so just give them your name and room number and it will all be taken care of.   
Mr. Hiddleston should be back around 6 this evening’

‘Thank you’ Lizzy said as she walked over to the window and looked out over the city

‘Is there anything I can get you before I go?’

‘No, thank you. I’m fine’

‘Alright, well it was nice meeting you Miss Walker, and I’m sure I’ll see you around over the next few days’

‘Nice to meet you too, and please, call me Lizzy’

Heather smiled and set the keycard down on the table near the door, and she and Jake left, leaving Lizzy alone in the suite. She picked up her cell and sent Tom a text to let him know he had arrived. She walked around the suite, still in trying to take it all in as she made her way to the bedroom. Lizzy opened her suitcase, that Jake had set on the on the luggage rack near the closet, and took out the dress she brought for the premier. It wasn’t anything too fancy, just a simple black dress she picked up a couple days ago. 

She wasn’t originally going to buy a new dress, she was going to wear the dress she wore when she and Tom went to dinner with Iris and Eric, but when she saw the dress she thought it was much nicer then what she had originally planned. She opened the closet to grab a hanger and saw Tom’s clothes hanging up, after she hung her dress she took the sleeve of one of his shirts in her hand and brought it to her nose, inhaling his scent and she couldn’t help but smile

After Lizzy got the rest of her things unpacked she sat down on the couch and checked her phone. There was nothing from Tom, but she did have a missed call from Iris and called her back and let her know she had arrived safely and then describe the room she was in. After she hung up with Iris she grabbed a book from her bag and settled back on the couch. 

She woke to the feeling of someone gently stroking her cheek, she opened her eyes and was greeted by Tom’s smiling face, he was seated on the coffee table in front of the couch.

‘Hello darling’ he whispered as she stretched her arms over her head and smiled, Tom leaned down and gave her a kiss. Lizzy wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss

‘Mmm….. Hello’ Lizzy whispered as she pulled her lips from his and sat up.

‘How long have you been sleeping?’

‘Um…. I don’t know. What time is it?’

Tom glanced down at his watch as he moved to sit beside her on the couch, ‘It’s a little after 7 o’clock’

‘Um….. Not too long. I started reading my book after I unpacked and I guess I dozed off for a bit’ Lizzy replied as she ran her fingers through her hair, trying to smooth out some knots. Tom brought his hand up and grasped hers, he brought it to his lips and placed a kiss to her knuckles, he then kissed up her arm and cupped her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb as he stared into her eyes

‘I missed you Liz’ he whispered as he leaned closer

‘I missed you too’ Lizzy reached over and started to loosen his tie pulling him closer as she did. Tom’s lips crashed against hers as his hands started to roam her body.

A couple hours later the two laid in bed, Tom’s chest was pressed against Lizzie’s back, her head rested on his arm, and their fingers entwined.

‘I don’t know about you, but I’ve definitely worked up an appetite’ Tom whispered against her neck ‘shall we get something to eat?’

Lizzy rolled over, buried her face against his chest and mumbled something.

‘What did you say darling?’ he asked with a soft chuckle as he smoothed her hair away from her face

Lizzy pulled her head back a bit ‘I said, I don’t want to leave the room’ she repeated as she ran her fingers over his chest

‘Well, you know the good thing about being in a hotel is that we don’t _have_ go anywhere. They have this nifty thing called room service, I call and order, and they bring it right up to the room. No pants required!’

Lizzy smiled and kissed his neck, ‘Okay. You go call and I’m going to freshen up a bit’

Tom stood and grabbed his boxers off the floor and headed out of the room as Lizzy grabbed her panties from the foot of the bed and headed for the bathroom. She flipped on the light and turned on the water in the sink, splashing some cold water on her face. She reached over and grabbed a towel to wipe her face and then turned to leave the bathroom. She grabbed a pair of shorts from the drawer, slipped them on, and stood in the doorway just staring at Tom, he was slightly bent over the counter in the kitchen area talking on the phone.

Lizzy walked up behind him just as he hung up the phone, wrapped her arms around him and placed a gentle kiss between his shoulder blades before resting her cheek against his skin. Tom placed his hands over hers and started swaying slowly

‘I ordered a couple of burgers and fries’ he said softly

'Ok’ Lizzy whispered

Tom turned around in her arms and noticed she had tears in her eyes, he brought his hands up and cupped her face, wiping away a tear with his thumb

'Hey, what’s wrong sweetheart?’

'Nothing. I’m just happy to see you again’ she replied with a smile on her face ‘I missed you _so_ much and I guess I didn’t really know how much until I saw your face’

Tom laughed and kissed her forehead, 'See, this is why you should let me get you a new computer. We could see each…..’

'Ok’ Lizzy said before he could finish what he was saying

'Wait. Really?’

'Yeah’ Lizzy said as she nodded her head

'What made you change your mind?’

'Well, I was talking to Iris a few days ago and I was telling her the reason I didn’t want you to buy me one and she told me that I shouldn’t care about nameless, faceless people’s opinions about our relationship’

'I knew I liked her!’

'Me too’

'Well, I’m glad you changed your mind, because I….. sort of already got it for you’ Tom said as he smiled down at her

'What?’

'Yeah, I got it a couple days ago. It’s in the other room, in my suitcase. I was going to slip it into your carry-on before you left and then send you a text to let you know it was there before you went through security’

‘Oh you’re lucky I like you, Hiddleston!’ Lizzy laughed as she rested her cheek against his chest and hugged him tightly

‘What? You just agreed to let me buy you one’

‘Yeah, I know. I just didn’t think you had _already_ got it’

‘I’m full of surprises darling!’

‘You better be careful, a girl could get used to this type of thing’

Tom pressed his lips to hers and kissed her deeply, pulling her tightly against his chest, he kissed along her jaw and down her neck, gently nibbling her skin

‘Uh, Tom……. as amazing as….. This feels….. _Mmmm_ ….. Room service is going to be here soon….. ’ Lizzy said softly ‘and I think we both need to refuel before…..’

‘Do you really want me to stop?’ Tom whispered against her skin

‘I never want you to stop, but I think you should. We can pick this up later. Consider it…. Dessert’

Tom chuckled, lifted his head and placed a kiss to the tip of her nose. A few minutes later there was a knock at the door and Tom walked over and opened the door to let in room service. After they finished their dinner and _dessert_ they fell asleep in each other’s arms.


	11. **The Premiere**

Lizzy woke to Tom’s phone ringing loudly on the night stand. Tom rushed from the bathroom with a towel around his waist, his skin still damp from his shower, and a toothbrush in his hand. He picked up the phone and answered it with a hushed voice

‘Hello?….. Morning Carol……. Yeah…… um, how about 12:30p?…… Okay, see you then…… Cheers!’ Tom set his phone back on the nightstand and glanced over to see Lizzy had woken, 'Sorry darling, I thought I had it on silent' 

'That’s Ok. I should be getting up anyway’

'You don’t have too, you’re on holiday.’ he replied as he leaned down and placed a kiss to her forehead. 'But, since you are awake, would you like to go out for breakfast or have room service again?’

'Um…. let’s go out. Then maybe we can walk around a little?’

'Of course. We just have to be back here to meet Carol 12:30’

'Who’s Carol?’

'She’s one of the stylists that works for my agency. She’s bringing my suit’ Tom replied as he walked back toward the bathroom 'and your dress’

'Oh, okay’ Lizzy sat up and stretched her arms over her head 'Wait….. What dress? I brought a dress with me’

'Well, when I told her I was bringing my girlfriend she asked if she could bring a dress for you as well, and I thought it would be a nice surprise for you’

'How does she….. _Or you_ , even know my size?’

'Ah….. That’s where Iris comes in. I called her a few weeks ago and asked if I could give Carol her number so she could call and ask a few questions, what she thought you might like and your size’ Lizzy stood and walked over toward the bathroom and stood at the door as Tom brushed his teeth, he glanced at her reflection in the mirror 

‘Are you upset? I can call her back and tell her not to bring the dress’

‘Hmm…. No, not upset. Just….. Surprised. You didn’t have to do all that, I have a dress’

‘Well, I’m not doing it, Carol is.’ Tom said as he wiped his face and walked over and stood in front of her ‘And if you don’t like it you can wear yours, okay?’

Lizzy thought for a moment, looking at the smile on Tom’s face and his sparkling eyes, ‘Okay’

‘Good. Now let’s get dressed. I’m _starving_!’ he said as he placed a kiss to the tip of her nose

After a nice leisurely breakfast Lizzy and Tom walked down Hollywood Blvd. a bit. Looking at the walk of fame and the Stars footprints in cement before heading back to the hotel to meet with Carol. When she arrived, with an assistant named Joy, they set up a workstation in the bedroom in case Tom’s suit or her dress needed any alterations. They worked with Tom and his suit first, which he looked amazing in, as always. Once he was changed out of his suit, Joy got to work redoing the cuffs on his jacket, they were just a tad too long, Carol called Lizzy into the room to try on her dress.

When Lizzy saw the dress they had brought for her, her jaw dropped. It was absolutely beautiful; it was a champagne colored silk chiffon that had a sheer black mesh fabric overlay and a ruched black satin belt. The overlay had an embroidered floral pattern, with hints of rhinestones for a bit sparkle across the bust, shoulders and down the ¾ length sleeves. The pattern also went partially down the skirt of the dress and there was tulle under it to make it poufy. Black platform heels and a black and champagne clutch were also brought for her. She had never worn such a stunning dress before, not even her maid of honor dress from Iris wedding compared to this. Though she would never tell that to Iris.

‘Is this _really_ for me?’ Lizzy asked Carol.

‘Yes, it is’ Carol replied with a giggle, ‘Go put it on so I can see if I have to make any alterations.’   
  
Lizzy took the dress and headed into the bathroom. She emerged a few minutes later and walked over to Carol,

‘Looks good so far, turn around and I’ll zip you up’ Lizzy just kept looking down at the dress, running her hands over the soft fabric. ‘Here, slip on the shoes and hop on the stool so I can really get a good look’

After walking around Lizzy a few times and inspecting every inch of the dress Carol made a suggestion

‘You know, you have really great legs and I would love to show them off. If it’s alright with you, I’d like to raise the hem a bit’

The hem of the skirt currently hit the middle of Lizzy’s calf, Carol grabbed some of the fabric and folded it under, making it hit at the knee. Lizzy looked at the reflection and thought for a moment before agreeing to the change. As Carol put pins along the hem for the new length, Lizzy still couldn’t believe that such a beautiful dress was for her and started to feel a little emotional, before she could stop herself, she started crying softly. When Carol finished pinning she stood and noticed the tears streaming down Lizzie’s face

‘Lizzy, are you alright? Did I stick you with a pin?’

‘I-I’m fine. I’ve just….. I’ve never worn anything this beautiful or experienced anything like this, all of this, and we haven’t even gone to the premiere yet, this is all so new to me, and it’s just a little……. _Overwhelming_.’

‘Awww, come here sweetie’ Carol said as Lizzy stepped down, Carol then threw her arms around Lizzy and gave her a hug

'I’m sorry, I’m acting like such a fool’

'You don’t have to apologize for anything. I completely understand, when I first started working with celebrities I cried almost every day when I got home. It _was_ overwhelming, but it gets easier once that part of your brain that thinks they’re not regular people finally learns that they are, they just happen to make their livings entertaining people’

'Have you ever gone to a premiere?’

'Dozens! They’re a lot of fun. All the people showing up to see the actors, maybe get a picture or an autograph from their favorite. Seeing a movie that no one else is going to see for a few more weeks. Oh, and the after parties!! Food, drinking, dancing, amazing people! You’re going to have so much fun tonight!!’

Lizzy smiled and wiped her eyes

'Thanks Carol’

'You’re welcome doll’ Carol said and then glanced at her watch  
'Shit! I better get to work!! Gail and Vance will be here any second! Go slip that off so I can sew the hem’

'Who are they?’

'Hair and make-up. Tom wanted to make sure you were completely pampered today. He’s such a sweetheart, you’re _very_ lucky’

As Lizzy slipped out of the dress and back into her clothes she heard a knock at the bedroom door, followed by everyone greeting each other.

'There, you’re all ready’ Gail said as she put a sparkly clip in Lizzie’s hair once her dress was on. She hadn’t looked at herself in the mirror yet and was a little nervous.  She slowly turned around, looked at her reflection and couldn’t believe the person she was looking at was her.

'You look amazing Lizzy! Tom is going to die!’ Vance added

'I….. I don’t know how to thank you all enough’ Lizzy said, her voice starting to break

'Don’t you dare cry and mess up that make-up!’ Vance said jokingly as he pulled her into a hug.

There was a knock at the door followed by Tom’s voice

‘Darling, Luke just called, he says the car will be here in less than 10 minutes. Are you just about ready?’

'Oh, she is _definitely_ ready!’ Carol said as she opened the door. Lizzy suddenly had more butterflies in her stomach then she did the first time they went to dinner together. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and slowly turned toward Tom.

'Lizzy….. You look….. _Wow_ ’

'Really? I look okay?’

'Okay? You look better than okay! I mean, I always think you look beautiful, but right now you look…….’ Tom walked over to her and took her hands in his 'I can’t even think of a word to properly described how _amazing_ you look’

Before Vance could object, Tom pressed his lips against hers and kissed her deeply. He brought his hand up to her neck and started to move it back into her hair

‘ _NO!_ ’ Grace yelled, startling everyone ‘Don’t even _think_ about touching her hair! We can touch up the lipstick in no time, but the hair…… Just…… Don’t. Touch. _the hair!_ ’  

As they rode to the premiere Tom kept staring at Lizzy, completely ignoring what Luke was saying

‘Tom!’ Luke said as he gently kicked Tom’s shoe ‘Pay attention! When we get there you’ll get out first, on the passenger side and Lizzy and I will get out on the driver’s side. Tony will escort Lizzy into the theater and to your seats while you do the usual, OK?’

‘Yeah, sounds good Luke’ Tom said as he brought Lizzie’s hand to his lips and placed a kiss to her knuckles.

A few minutes later the car came to a stop in front of the theater, Tom’s door was opened and he stepped out of the car, the cheers were already loud when they pulled up but as soon as Tom unfolded himself from the car they grew even louder. Lizzy smiled and slid across the seat toward the other door, after Luke exited he extended his hand to help her out, her foot caught on the frame and she fell forward, landing against his chest. Before she even looked up she knew it wasn’t Luke’s chest she fell against, it was Tom’s.

‘What are you doing?’ she asked as Tom held on to her ‘You’re supposed to be walking the carpet!’

‘I know, and I will. I just wanted to help you out of the car first. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t’ he replied as he bent down and place a kiss to her cheek ‘I’ll see you inside’

Tony came over and offered his arm and they started toward the door, walking a few paces behind Tom, they should have gone in by now but Lizzy was walking slowly so she could watch Tom interact with his fans, and the interviewers that lined the way. As they neared the door she stopped again to watch Tom in front of all the photographers and couldn’t help but remember her dream from last week

‘Miss’ Tony said as he stood in the doorway waiting for her.

Lizzy turned and took a step toward the door and stepped inside, Tony showed her to her seat and then left. It was about 20 minutes before Tom plopped down in the seat next to her. After a few more minutes everyone else was in their seats and the movie was starting.

4 hours later Lizzy and Tom slowly swayed around the dance floor at the after party, her cheek rested on his chest.

‘How did you like your first premiere?’ Tom asked as he ran his hand up and down her back

‘It was great. Everyone…. and everything is just so wonderful! Thank you so much for asking me to come with you’

‘Of course my love, I’m just so happy you decided to’

‘Me too’

‘So. I have something else that I’d like to ask you. Now you don’t have to answer right away, take a little time to think about it’

‘Okay, what?’ Lizzy asked as she lifted her head to look up at Tom

‘I was _hoping_ that you might like to come to London and spend Christmas and New Years with me?’

‘Really?’

‘Yes, really. London is beautiful at Christmas and you can meet my family. My Mum is _dying_ to meet you’

‘You….. You told your mom about me?’

‘Of course I did’ Tom said as he stopped dancing, brought his hand up and stroked her cheek ‘Why wouldn’t I tell my Mum about the amazing, beautiful, wonderful woman that stole my heart?’

Lizzy smiled and felt her heart skip a beat as Tom leaned forward and kissed her deeply. When their lips parted they stared into each other’s eyes for a moment before noticing that the music changed and everyone around them was bouncing around the dance floor to the up-tempo song. Tom chuckled and pulled Lizzy back against his chest, hugging her tightly and placing a kiss to the top of her head and started swaying again.

A little while later the two walked back into their hotel room, Tom had his suit jacket draped over his arm and his bow tie hung undone around his neck, the first few buttons of his shirt unbuttoned. Lizzy was carrying her shoes in one hand, having taken them off in the car on the way back. Her feet were thankful for finally being freed from their confines, she sat on the couch and wiggled her toes before lifting one up and rubbing it. Tom came over and sat beside her

‘Here, give me your feet’

‘No, it’s alright’

‘Liz, give me your feet!’

Lizzy shifted on the couch, resting her back against the arm of the couch and resting her feet on his lap. His long slender fingers massaged her sore feet, occasionally making Lizzy twitch as his fingers tickled her skin

‘I usually don’t like people touching my feet’ Lizzy said softly as she started to relax ‘but that feels _so_ good’

‘I love foot massages. Our feet do so much for us, it’s good to give them a little TLC every now and then’

‘This is my first one’ Lizzy said with a giggle as Tom purposely tickled the bottom of her feet

‘Seriously? How have you never had one?’

‘Like I said, I don’t like people touching my feet’

‘You’re letting me touch them’

‘You’re different’ Lizzy said with a smile and resting her head against the the couch as she watched Tom.

He moved his hands up and started massaging her calves, after a few minutes Lizzy let out a yawn

‘Come on. Let’s head to bed’ Tom said as he gave her calf a gently squeeze and started to stand, Lizzy stood and they headed into the room. Tom removed his shirt and grabbed a hanger from the closet to hang it on. Lizzy took off her jewelry, well the jewelry that was brought for her, grabbed her pj’s from the drawer and then walked over to Tom

‘Could you unzip me please?’

Tom reached up and slowly drew her zipper down, letting his fingers gently brush against her skin as he did. Lizzy thanked him and turned to walk toward the bathroom to change. Before she could move completely away from him he pulled her back against his chest, placing kisses along her neck and pushing her dress off her shoulders as he did.

‘Tom….. Let me go change first’

‘No’ Tom whispered against her skin ‘I want to _see_ you’

In all the time they had been together, Lizzy had never shown her body to him, to anyone. Anytime they made love she kept a shirt on and made sure all the lights turned off. Tom stopped kissing her neck and moved to stand in front of her, his hands gently resting on her arms as she stared at the floor

‘Tom…I….’ 

‘Liz, I know you don’t like your body, but I love it…. I love _you_ , and I’d love to see _all_ of you’

Lizzy thought for a moment before she took a few steps away and turned her back to him, setting her pajamas on the chair next to her. She took a deep breath and pulled her arm out of one sleeve, then the other. She held the dress to her chest before slowly letting it fall to the floor. She still had on her bra and panties, but already felt completely naked as she stood there

She closed her eyes and reached behind her back to unclasp her bra, she felt Tom’s hands run along her arms, she opened her eyes and saw him standing in front of her, smiling. She dropped her hands to her sides as he reached back and unclasped it himself. before slowly drawing the straps down her arms and dropping it to the floor. She closed her eyes again, took a deep breath, and brought her hands up to the waistband of her panties, slowly pushing them down her hips and letting them fall to the floor with her dress and bra. Lizzy lifted her arms up to try to cover herself, but Tom gently grasped her wrists

‘No Darling, please let me look at you’ he whispered

Lizzy slowly dropped her hands again as his eyes studied her body, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she nervously wrung her hands together. She had never been completely naked in front of anyone before and she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as Tom rested his hands on her hips and slowly ran them over her skin. Lizzy took in a shaky breath and closed her eyes as she felt tears start to roll down her cheeks, Tom placed a finger under her chin and tilted her head up

‘Liz. Look at me’ She bit her lip, slowly opened her eyes, and looked into his ‘You’re _beautiful_ ’

She shook her head slightly, closed her eyes again and whispered ‘No I’m not’

‘Yes, you are. Every inch of you is beautiful’

‘No… I’m fat and gross and…… and…. I don’t know why you’re with me!’ Lizzy said as more tears rolled down her cheeks. She turned away from Tom and reached for her pajamas. he gently grabbed her arms and looked into her eyes

‘Liz, please believe me. I think you’re beautiful, and amazing, and the most wonderful, caring person that I have ever met! And I am so very thankful for every second that I get to spend with you. You make me happier then I have been in a very long time. I love you, Liz, with every fiber of my being and _that_ iswhy I’m with you!’

Before Lizzy could say anything Tom pressed his lips against hers as he started gently pushing her back until she felt the edge of the bed against the back of her legs and she sat down. Tom kept kissing her as he crawled over her, his hands touching every inch of her, he pressed his bare chest against hers and Lizzy moaned into his mouth as she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him tighter against her, his lips left hers and he licked and nibbled her neck

‘I love you too’ Lizzy moaned softly as Tom’s hands and lips continued to explore her body

After they made love Lizzy and Tom just laid in blissful silence enjoying the warmth of each other’s bodies. Tom ran his fingertips over her skin as Lizzy did the same to him

‘So’ Tom said softly ‘have you thought about London at all?’

‘Um….. since you asked me…. 4 and a half hours ago? Not really, no’

‘I think you should come. We can make love like this every night’

‘Could get old’

‘This will _never_ get old’ he said as he placed a kiss to her shoulder ‘We can even make love under the Christmas tree. I’ve always wanted to do that!’

‘I think we might traumatize Santa and his elves!’

‘A bonus!’

Lizzy giggled and rolled over to face him, she looked into his eyes and ran her thumb over his lips before placing a gentle kiss to them

‘Okay. I’ll come to London for Christmas’

‘Really!’

‘Yeah. _If_ I can get the time off work that is’

‘I can’t wait for you to meet my family and see all the wonderful things that go on during Christmastime. You’ll have an amazing time Liz!’

‘ _You’re_ all I need to make it amazing’

Tom wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly as they both started to fall asleep. 

***********************  
‘Are you having fun, love?’ Tom asked as they danced together at the Christmas party being held by his agent

'I am. Your friends are great.’

'They seem to love you’

'Yeah?’ Lizzy said with a smile.

‘Yeah’ Tom said as he twirled Lizzy around before pulling her tightly against his chest and placed a kiss to her forehead ‘But I love you more’

When she looked up there was mistletoe hanging above them Lizzy closed her eyes as Tom lowered his head. But there was no kiss, she opened her eyes and Tom was no longer in her arms and she was just standing in the middle of the dance floor. She looked around trying to find him in the sea of faces but didn’t see him anywhere.

Lizzy started moving through the crowd, pushing her way past the all the people. The further she went the harder it was to move and they all seemed to ignore her as she asked them to let her through. She pushed through two more pairs of shoulders and suddenly found herself in a hallway. As she made her way down the hall she heard voices coming from one of the rooms and walked toward it and peered in. She saw Tom standing with some of his friends, his back to the door

'You can’t really be serious Tom?’ One friend said

'You look….. _Ridiculous…._ with her!’

'You really should end it before she starts thinking you two have a future together’

Tom didn’t say anything, he just stared straight ahead. One of his friends walked up and placed a hand on his shoulder,

'Look man, we’ve all gone through this phase and you’ve had your fun. Now it’s the time to call it off and find someone more suited to be with someone like you’ he gave Tom’s arm a squeeze and turned and walked through the door, walking right past Lizzy as if she weren’t even there. The rest of his friends soon followed.

Lizzy turned and looked back in the room, Tom was still just standing there, still staring straight ahead. Lizzy took a step forward and almost ran into a waiter holding a tray of champagne. She tried to step past him but he continued to block her way

'Champagne Miss?’

'No, Thank you’ Lizzy replied as she tried to step past him again

'You know don’t belong here’ he whispered, barely loud enough for Lizzy to hear

'I’m sorry. What did you say?’

The man took a step forward and looked into her eyes

'You. Don’t. Belong. Here!’ he kept walking forward, making Lizzy take a few steps back ‘You don’t belong with…….  _HIM!_ ’

Lizzy took a deep breath pushed her way past him, walking toward Tom. When she got close she reached out to touch him, he stood and someone she couldn’t see grabbed his arm, pulling him away from her

‘Tom, wait, come back! Please Tom!’

But he made no effort to get away from the person pulling him, nor did he look back in her direction. Tears streamed down her face, making her vision blurry as she raced after them as they got further and further away. She suddenly tripped and fell to her hands and knees, the world around her disappearing, and no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t get back to her feet 

‘Tom, please don’t leave me!’ she cried softly as he disappeared from her view ‘Please come back!! Please…… Tom…….. Tom……’

_‘Liz…… Lizzy……’_ it sounded like his voice but when she looked around she couldn’t see him, all she could see was darkness  _‘Liz…. Darling……’_

Suddenly the world around her started to shake and she hoped the earth would open up and swallow her. Off in the distance Lizzy could see a faint light, it started as a small dot and then started getting bigger and bigger. 

__‘Lizzy…. wake up…. wake up sweetheart!’_   
_

Lizzy slowly opened her eyes and saw Tom looking down at her, she blinked a few times and then looked around her and saw that she was still in the hotel room and Tom was still with her, she sat up and ran her hand through her hair.

‘Liz, are you okay?’ he ask softly as he wiped the tears from her cheek

‘Yeah….. I’m fine’

‘What were you dreaming of darling?’

‘I-It was nothing’ she replied 

‘It had to be _something_ , love. You were crying and calling out to me’ 

Lizzy looked into his eyes and saw that he really was worried, she took a deep breath before she started. She told him about this dream and all the others she had been having lately. How they always started out nice but ended with someone telling her she didn’t belong, and how she couldn’t help but feel like it was her subconscious was telling her she didn’t belong with him and by the time she finished she had tears streaming down her face. Tom wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly as he stroked her hair, trying to calm her down

‘ _Shhhh_ …… It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m here. I’m _here_ ’ he soothed as Lizzy  wrapped her arms around him and buried her face against his neck ‘You’re right where you belong my love. In my arms and in my heart. I’m not going _anywhere_. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me’

‘Promise?’ Lizzy whispered

‘I promise’


	12. **Christmas in London**

In the days and weeks following the premiere there had been quite a few pictures of Lizzy and Tom together from that night. There was also quite a bit of comments on them, but this time the positive comments outnumbered the bad and Lizzy finally started to feel better about things. She even stopped having the dreams of people telling her she didn’t belong.

Two weeks before she was set to fly to London she was doing some last minute shopping with Iris, trying to find something for Tom. As she walked through the stores nothing jumped out at her and she was getting more and more frustrated.

‘What do you get that man that can buy himself whatever he wants?’

‘Have you asked him what he wants?’ Iris asked as Lizzy looked at a sweater and then shoved it back on the rack

‘No. because I know he’ll either say _‘Oh, just anything’_ or _‘You don’t have to get me a gift, darling!’_ in that damn, perfect accent of his!’

Iris laughed and held up a different sweater for Lizzy to see, Lizzy looked at it, scrunched her nose, and shook her head. They continued looking for a little while longer before stopping for some lunch.

‘So, what do _you_ want for Christmas?’ Iris asked after they ordered

‘Nothing’ Lizzy replied

‘Oh come on, there’s gotta be something you want’

‘I’m getting to spend Christmas in London with Tom. I don’t need anything else’ Lizzy said as she spread some butter on a piece of bread ‘So, when Tom calls you again let him know that, okay?’ she added with a giggle

‘I….. Um…. Why would Tom call me about what to get you for Christmas?’

‘He called you about getting my size for that dress, so why _wouldn’t_ he call you about what to get me for Christmas?’

‘He didn’t call or ask me anything’

‘Sure he didn’t’

‘He didn’t!’ Iris insisted ‘So, am I driving you to the airport on Thursday?’

‘No, I’m going to take a shuttle, I don’t want you to get stuck in all that airport traffic’

‘I don’t mind!’

‘No, really. I already called them and set it up. I appreciate it though’

‘Is Tom picking you up at the airport there?’

‘No, he has a couple of meeting that afternoon so he’s arranged to have a car service pick me up’

_***Two weeks later*** _

Lizzy sat in the terminal reading as she waited to board the plane, her flight was scheduled to take off in less than an hour, when her phone rang. She was surprised to hear Tom’s ring tone since it was after 2am in London.

‘Hello sweetie, what are you doing up?’ she asked

_‘I set my alarm’_ he replied, followed by a yawn _‘I wanted to wish you a safe flight’_

‘Awww, you didn’t have to do that’

_‘I wanted too. I wanted to hear your voice’_

‘Well, I’ll be there in….’ Lizzy glanced down at her watch ’10 hours!’

_‘I know. I can’t wait to hold you, and kiss you.’_

As they continued to talk there was an announcement over the PA saying that her flight would start boarding in just a few minutes

_‘Sounds like that’s your queue’_

‘I still wish you hadn’t gotten me a first class ticket. Coach would have been just fine’

_‘Nope. Only the best for my girl!’_

‘Well then, you can stop asking Iris what you should get me for Christmas, since you got me the tickets’

_‘What….. um….. What makes you think I asked Iris what to get you?’_

‘Because she asked me what I want for Christmas, and she hasn’t done that since we were about 16’ Lizzy said with a giggle

_‘I guess I’m busted! So, what do you want for Christmas?’_

‘A plane ticket to visit my amazingly sexy, generous, boyfriend. Oh look! There’s one in my hand’ Lizzy said as she glanced up and saw that most of the passengers had boarded ‘I should go. I’ll see you in a few hours’

_‘I love you. See you when you get here’_

‘Love you too’

The flight wasn’t bad, just long, Lizzy tried to sleep on the plane but just couldn’t seem too. When the plane landed she made her way to baggage claim and saw a man holding a sign the had her name on it and went over to introduced herself. He followed her to the carousel and wheeled her bags out to the car for her. Before he loaded them in the trunk of the car he opened the back door so she could get in. When she slid in she was surprised to see Tom sitting in the car with a bouquet flowers in his hand and a huge smile on his face

‘What are you doing here?’ she asked as she threw her arms around him ‘I thought you had meetings?

‘I _may_ have told you a little white lie so that I could surprise you’

‘I’m glad you did’ she whispered as she pulled back and looked into his eyes, she brought her hand up and ran her fingers along his jaw

‘I missed you’ he said softly before he pressed his lips to hers and kissed her deeply, pulling her as close as he could, dropping the flowers he brought to the seat behind her.   
  
‘I _really_ missed you’ he moaned breathlessly when he broke the kiss

‘I missed you too’

'Are you hungry? We stop and get something to eat before we head home’

'I ate on the plane’ Lizzy whispered softly

'I was hoping you’d say that’ Tom replied as he brushed his lips softly over hers

********

Lizzy stretched her arms across the bed to wrap them around Tom, but he wasn’t beside her. She rolled over and looked at the clock on the nightstand, 3:37, she was surprised that he wasn’t there. She ran her hand over his spot again and noticed that it felt cold, she glanced at the clock again and this time her eyes focused on the little _'pm’_ next to the time, she had slept most of the day away. She sat up and winced at the pain that shot through her muscles, she rubbed her back and noticed a note propped up against the lamp.

> _“Hello my love._  
>  I put a clean towel and wash cloth in the bathroom for you, along with your toiletries. I also put your clothes in the dresser and closet.  
> If I’m not here when you come downstairs I probably went for a run or popped down to the market for something. Either way, I won’t be gone long.  
> Love you”

Lizzy swung her legs off the bed and felt her slippers under her feet, her legs felt heavy, sore, and _very_ stiff. She slowly shuffled her way over to the bathroom, flipped on the light and saw all of her toiletries nicely arranged in the shower and her toothbrush in the holder alongside Tom’s. 

She saw the towel and washcloth Tom said he left for her on the edge of the tube, she also saw one of the flowers from the bouquet he brought to the airport set on top of them. She turned on the shower, striped her pajamas. and climbed in, letting the hot water relax her sore muscles and wake her up. Once she was dressed she made her way downstairs to find Tom sitting on the couch reading, she walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck, placing a kiss to the side of his head.

‘Hello darling, did you sleep well?’

‘I did’ she replied as she walked around the couch and sat beside him, tucking her feet under herself ‘I’m sorry I slept so long and I’m sorry if you had anything planned for us today’’

‘Don’t be sorry love, you needed it, and nope, not a thing. I just wanted to stay around the house with you’ Tom replied as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, running his fingertips lightly up and down her arm

'And thank you so much for unpacking my suitcase, you didn’t have to do that’

‘My pleasure darling’ Tom replied as he placed a kiss to the top of her head ‘How about we head into the kitchen and I whip us up something to eat’

‘Sure’

After they ate Lizzy sent a text to her parents and Iris to let them know she arrived safely. Later that night as they sat on the couch watching TV, Lizzy was staring at the Christmas tree in the corner instead, hypnotized by the twinkling white lights. She snapped out of it when Tom’s house phone rang, he paused the movie and got up to answer it

‘Hello?…… Hi Mum….. yeah, she got here yesterday evening…… no, we’re just watching a movie…… hold on a moment, let me ask her’ Tom lowered the phone from his ear, covered the receiver with his hand, and turned toward Lizzy, ‘My Mum wants to know if you would like to have lunch with her and my sister Emma tomorrow?’

Lizzy nodded and whispered _yes_ and Tom smiled and brought the phone back to his ear,

‘Yeah, we’ll be there…… yeah, me too….. Love you too, Mum. See you tomorrow’ Tom then hung up the phone and sat back down on the couch beside Lizzy and started the movie up again. ‘We’re going to meet them at a little place near my Mum’s house at 1 o’clock. They’re _very_ excited to meet you’

Lizzy smiled and rested her head on his shoulder, she was suddenly very nervous at the thought of meeting his mom and one of his sisters in less than 24 hours. She knew she would be meeting them, and the rest of his family and some friends, while she was here but she thought it wouldn’t be until Christmas day at his mother’s house. She had a plan for meeting everyone at his mom's’ house, if she got too nervous, or did something to embarrass herself, she could go hide in a bedroom or bathroom, but meeting at a restaurant meant she couldn’t just sneak off and hide someplace. Once the movie ended they walked upstairs and went to bed, it didn’t take her long to fall asleep once she was wrapped in the warmth of Tom’s arms

The following morning Lizzy woke early, before Tom, she gently slipped out of bed and quietly looked through the clothes she brought, trying to find something to wear. She wanted to look nice, but not overdressed, she finally settled on a knee length skirt, black tights, pink blouse and a black cardigan. After that was decided she tiptoed to the bathroom, turned on the shower, and climbed in. When she got out and stepped back into the room to get her undergarments she forgot to take into the bathroom with her, she saw Tom sitting up in bed

‘Why are you up so early?’ he asked as he ran a hand over his face, lightly sctatching his morning stubble

‘I was just getting ready’

‘Ready for what?’

‘Lunch, with your mom and sister’

Tom looked over at the clock on the nightstand, it was only 7:15, ‘That’s not for another _6 hours_ ’ he said with a chuckle

‘I know, I just want to make sure I look….. _Good_ ’

‘You always look good’

‘But I’m meeting your _mom and sister,_ I need to look like I belong with you. I need to make sure my hair and my make-up and my clothes are good enough’

Tom stood and walked over to her, placing his hands on her arms, ‘Liz, you don’t have to try to impress my mum or my sister. You could show up wearing a burlap sack and they’d still love you’

Tom leaned down and placed a kiss to her lips as his hands made their way to the front of the towel that was wrapped around her, untucking it and letting fall to the floor. Tom’s lips moved along her cheek and jaw and he started kissing her neck

‘Tom…… I just took a shower’ she said as he continued to lick and nibble her skin

‘There’s time for you to take another’ Tom whispered against her neck, and pulled her closer. Lizzy let out a soft chuckle and wrapped her arms around him.

A few hours later Lizzy stood in front of the restaurant waiting for Tom, he had let her off at the door before he went to park his car. As she stood there wringing her hands she tried to calm herself, telling herself that everything was going to be fine. After a few minutes Tom came up and slipped his arm around her, startling her and making her jump a bit

'Relax sweetheart. They’re going to _love_ you’ he said as he placed a gentle kiss to the side of her head. He wrapped his hand around hers and the two walked into the restaurant and found his mom and sister patiently waiting for them. The two women stood and greeted Tom with hugs and kisses to the cheek before turning toward Lizzy

‘Mum, Emma. I would like to introduce you to Miss Elizabeth Walker. Liz, my Mum Diana and my sister Emma’

‘Elizabeth, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you’ Diana said as she shook Lizzie’s hand ‘Tom talks about you _all_ the time.

‘It’s a pleasure to meet you too Mrs. Hiddleston’

‘Oh, please dear, call me Diana’ she said as the four sat down ‘I’m so glad you came to lunch today, I was telling Tom that I thought it would be better to meet today rather then on Christmas. There are going to be quite a few people at the house on and I don’t want you to feel too overwhelmed’

‘Warning you now that you’ll probably be asked a ton of questions from the rest of the family’ Emma added ‘Especially Sarah, protective big sister and all!’

‘Oh, I know all about that. I have 3 older siblings’ Lizzy said with a giggle. As lunch went on she started to relax a little more.

‘So, Elizabeth. You said you have 3 older siblings?’ Mrs. Hiddleston asked after their dessert had been served ‘Brothers? Sisters?’

‘Both, I have 2 brothers and 1 sister, all older’

‘And do any of them have children?’

‘Yes, they all do. My oldest brother has 4, my other brother has 2, and my sister has 2’

‘Lovely. What about you dear, do you want children someday?’

_‘Mum!’_ Tom groaned and rolled his eyes a little

‘Um…. I…. uh’ Lizzy said with a nervous chuckle ‘Yes, I do’ she replied with a smile, then glanced over at Tom.

Tom reached over and grabbed Lizzie’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze

‘Have the two of you talk…..’

‘ _Mum_ … Please! Enough with the 3rd degree’ Tom said with a chuckle

After lunch ended and they all said their goodbyes Tom and Lizzy headed back to his house. Lizzy had a huge smile on her face the entire car ride.

‘Told you they would love you’ Tom said as they walked into the house.

‘You really think they liked me? Lizzy replied as she set her purse on the table by the door, hung her coat on the rack, and kicked off her shoes

‘No darling. They _loved_ you!’ Tom hung his coat alongside hers and then wrapped his arms around her ‘Especially my Mum. She thinks you’re amazing’

‘I loved them too’ Lizzy smiled and rested her cheek against his chest, ‘But I’m not surprised, they’re related to you so what’s _not_ to love’

Over the course of the next few days Tom took Lizzy to different locations all over London to look at all the beautiful lights and decorations and do a little last minute shopping. On Christmas morning Lizzy slowly opened her eyes and was greeted by Tom’s sparkling eyes staring at her, a smile on his lips

‘Good morning beautiful’ Tom whispered as he reached over and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear ‘Merry Christmas’

‘Morning. Merry Christmas’ Lizzy rolled to her back and stretched her arms over her head ‘how long have you been awake?’

‘About 30 minutes, I started a pot of coffee. Shall we go downstairs, have a cup, and see what Santa has brought?’

‘Yeah, let me just run to the bathroom first and I’ll be right down’ Lizzy replied as she stood and walked toward the bathroom

When she got downstairs she saw Tom sitting on the couch sipping his coffee, and on the table in front of him was a cup for her, as well as a plate of scones from Tom’s favorite bakery down the street. He took her there the other morning and she fell in love with the blueberry scones they had. Before she sat down beside him she grabbed one of the gifts she got him from under the tree.

‘Merry Christmas!’ Lizzy said with a smile as she handed it to him and sat down

‘Aww, thank you love’ he said as he reached behind the throw pillow beside him and handed her ‘and for you, my dear’

Lizzy and Tom spent the next hour slowly opening gifts and enjoying their coffee and scones. Tom had gotten her an iPad, a gorgeous pair of diamond and sapphire earrings, and a few more things. She felt a little bad that her gifts to him weren’t as good, she got him a pajama and slipper set, and a knitted navy blue sweater that had buttons on one shoulder.

‘More coffee darling?’ Tom asked as he stood and reached for her cup

‘Yes, please’

When Tom disappeared into the kitchen she went to the tree to hide her other gift to him, embarrassed to give it to him after everything that he had given her, it just wasn’t good enough for him…. In her eyes

‘Liz? What are you doing?’

‘Oh! Um….. One of the ornaments fell off the tree so I was just putting it back’

‘Oh’ he replied as he set their coffees on the table

‘What time do we have to be at your mom’s?’ she asked as she walked back over to the couch

‘Around 1 o’clock, I always help her make dinner’ Tom replied as Lizzy sat down beside him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder ‘Everyone else will start arriving around 5 or 6’

Later that evening Lizzy moved around the kitchen at Tom’s mother's’ house, helping to put out plates of hors d'oeuvres before the rest of his family arrived. A few people already had, including Tom’s older sister Sarah, her husband and their son, and like Emma had warned she asked her a ton of questions, mostly the same ones that his mom had already asked her.   
  
Lizzy was very nervous when more and more people started to arrive, but was soon feeling at home and relaxed enough to enjoy herself. As she sat in the living room, holding the 6 month old daughter of a couple of Tom’s friends while they chatted, he sat in the dining room watching her. Sarah came over and sat down beside him

‘She’s great Tom. I can see why you love her’ she said as she handed him a glass of wine. Tom smiled and took a sip, casting his gaze back to Lizzy ‘I haven’t see you this happy in a while’

‘Yeah. I feel very lucky to have found her’

‘So….. Have the two of you talked about your future?’

‘Not yet’

‘Do you see one with her?’

‘ _Sarah_ ….’ Tom sighed

‘What! You’re my little brother. I’m just looking out for you, I don’t want to see you hurt again!’ she said as she placed her hand on his ‘And Lizzy is great too, I really like her and I can tell that she really loves you. I wouldn’t want to see _her_ hurt either’

‘Lizzie’s not like that and I could never hurt her.’ Tom replied as he turned to look at his sister ‘And yes, I _do_ see a future with her’

Sarah smiled and rested her head on his shoulder ‘I’m really happy for you Tom’

Tom turned his head and placed a kiss to the top of his sister's’ head. ‘Merry Christmas Sis’

A few hours later Lizzy and Tom walked into his house and before the door was closed Tom cupped her face and crashed his lips against hers, pushing her against the wall and kissing her deeply, his tongue dancing with hers. Lizzy ran her hands up his back, pulling him tightly against her. When their lips parted he rested his forehead against hers and looked into her eyes

‘Well hi’ she whispered breathlessly as she ran her fingers through the hair on the back of his head

‘I love you Liz’ Tom ran his thumb softly over her cheek ‘so very much’

‘I love you too’

‘I know we haven’t been together very long or even spent a great deal of time with each other, but I want you to know that I love you with all of my heart and I am sure _you_ are the one I want to spend the rest of my life with’

‘Tom…. a-are you’ Lizzy swallowed hard, her heart racing ‘ _proposing_?’

‘Not officially, not yet.’ Tom replied ‘Just know that I thoroughly intend to someday’

Lizzy could feel tears rolling down her cheeks as Tom pressed his lips to hers again.


	13. **Happy New Year**

In the days following Christmas, Lizzy and Tom didn’t leave his house, and barely left his bedroom. It wasn’t until the 28th that Tom ventured outside. Christian had called him that morning and asked if he’d be able to meet him and the director of his upcoming movie for a dinner meeting. Tom invited Lizzy to join them but she chose to stay in so she could call and catch up with her family and Iris, she hadn’t spoken to them much since she arrived in London over a week ago. She called her parents first and talked for almost an hour but she didn’t tell them that Tom, _sort of,_ proposed to her.

_‘Are you busy?’_ Lizzy sent in a text message to Iris, she knew her in-laws were staying with her and Eric through New Year’s and she didn’t want to bother them if they were doing something. Less than a minute after she sent the message her phone started ringing

‘Hi Swee….’

_‘Oh. My. God! I have been calling and texting you since you left!! I was starting to think Tom killed you and sold your organs on the black market!’_

‘I’m sorry! I haven’t called anyone’ Lizzy replied with a laugh ‘I just talked to my parents for almost an hour, my Mom read me the riot act!’

_‘Good!!’_ Iris said with a huff _‘Okay, I’m over it. How is everything going? Did Tom like his gifts? What did he get you?’_

‘Everything is going great. He got me an iPad and some really nice earrings. And yeah, he liked his’

_‘Nice! How did everything go with his family?’_

‘They’re so wonderful! His entire family was just so kind and sweet and welcoming’

_‘That’s great Lizzy! I knew they would love you! So, what have you two been doing since then?’_

‘Just staying in. We haven’t left the house since we got back from his mom’s house’

_'Oooh…. and where is lover boy at now? Passed out in bed?’_

'No, he actually went to dinner with his agent and the director of his next movie’

_‘And he didn’t take you….. RUDE!!!’_

‘He invited me but I wanted to stay in so I could call and talk to you’ Lizzy said as she started to fiddle with the edge of the throw pillow she was holding

_‘About?’_

‘Um….. The fact that Tom….. _Sort of_ …. proposed to me the other night’

_‘WHAT!!! What do you mean he sort of proposed!? How does someone ‘sort of’ propose? What did you say?’_

Lizzy told her everything that Tom said to her and by the time they hung up Iris practically had Lizzie’s entire wedding planned out, from place settings and centerpieces to flower girl dresses and food. Lizzy just listened and added an occasional _‘ok’_ or ‘ _maybe_ ’ knowing that if she and Tom did get married Iris would be the one to help her plan it, so she really was happy to hear her ideas. Especially since she sucked at planning parties, if left up to her they would just go to a judge to get married or head to Vegas and go to a drive thru chapel. Not long after she hung up with Iris Tom arrived home, 

‘Oh my god! It’s _bloody cold_ out there!!’

He said as he came into the living room after taking off his coat and scarf and plopping down on the couch beside her 

‘I forgot my gloves when I left and my hands are freezing! Feel them!’

‘No, that’s alright. I believe you’ Lizzy replied, scooching away from him a little. She saw the little smirk creep across his lips, and she stood and backed away from the couch, Tom stood and stepped toward her, she tossed her pillow at him in an attempt to slow him down while she made her escape, but it didn’t work, in the blink of an eye he was off after her. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his chest and burying his cold face against her neck,

_‘Tom!! Oh my god!!’_

‘Warm me up love!’ Tom laughed as he continued to rub his cold face on her neck, he then slipped his cold hands under her shirt. Lizzy let out a yelp and tried to pull away from him, but when she stepped back she stepped on the pillow she had thrown at him and lost her footing, sending her to the floor and pulling Tom down on top on her  
  
‘Oh god, I’m sorry love! Are you alright?’ he asked

Lizzy smiled up at Tom as she gripped his shirt and pulled him into a kiss

‘I’ll take that as a yes’ Tom whispered after Lizzy took her lips from his. Lizzy ran her hands down his chest, looked over his shoulder and smiled

‘As I recall’ Lizzy said as she started placing kisses to his neck ‘Someonepromised me _*kiss*_ love making _*kiss*_ under the _*kiss*_ Christmas tree’

‘So I did’ Tom said as he lowered his lips to hers

A little while later the two laid beside the tree wrapped in each other’s arms, under the throw blanket from the couch, it was pretty thin and Lizzy was getting chilly so she decided to go grab another one

'And just where do you think you’re going’ Tom asked, pulling Lizzy back against his chest 'I’m not finished with you yet’

'I was just going to run upstairs and get another blanket, this one isn’t very warm’

'I have a way to keep you warm’ Tom replied as he buried his face against her neck

'Mmmmm….. and that is my _favorite_ way to stay warm, but I would still like another blanket for in between rounds!’

'Alright, but hurry back’  

When Lizzy came back down Tom was sitting up and holding the gift she had hidden from him on Christmas morning. She bite her lip and walked back over to where he was sitting and sat down beside him, hugging the blanket she brought to her chest.

‘What’s this?’ he asked

Lizzy let out a sigh before she spoke, ‘it’s….. a gift I made, but was too embarrassed to give you’ she said as she fiddled with the hem of the blanket

‘Why would you be embarrassed to give me something you made me?’

‘Because it’s stupid. Everything you gave me was so amazing and this is just……. _not_ ’

‘It couldn’t possibly be stupid, Liz’ Tom said as he placed his hand on her knee and gave it a gentle squeeze ‘Can I open it? Please?’

Lizzy nodded and Tom gently tore the paper off, revealing a photo album. Tom smiled as he started to flip through the pages, looking at all the pictures that Lizzy had put together.

‘Lizzy this is great! I _love_ it!’ Tom exclaimed

_‘Really?’_

‘Really! What gave you the idea to do this?’ he asked as he continued to flip through the pages

‘Well, one of my sister-in-laws started scrapbooking when she was pregnant and got the rest of us into it. I was babysitting while Iris and Eric were at his office party and after the kids went to bed I was looking at some of our pictures in my phone and just thought _‘why not’_ so the next day I got them printed and started putting that together’

‘I’m glad you did. You’ll have to show me how to do this too’ Tom said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulled her close, and placed a kiss to the side of her temple ‘So that when we have kids we can make them together’

When Tom mentioned them having kids she suddenly got nervous and began to fiddle with the blanket again, pulling away from him a little. He was still looking at the scrapbook and didn’t notice at first, not until he glanced over at her and saw the sadness on her face

‘Liz? Sweetheart, what’s wrong?’ Tom asked her, she just shook her head, ‘Yes there is, what is it?’

‘It’s nothing. Just me being…… _stupid_ ’

Tom closed the scrapbook and set it on the floor in front of him

‘You’re not being stupid if something is bothering you’

‘You…. you said you wanted me to show you how to make those…. for _our kids_ ’

‘Yes, I do. I think it would be fun to do them together’

Lizzy thought for a moment, trying to figure out how to best say what was on her mind but instead of saying it calmly it just came pouring out of her mouth, faster then she thought she had ever spoken before, she could feel the tears stinging her eyes as she did, she tried to stop herself but she couldn’t

‘Our kids. You said _OUR_ kids. And the other night you…. you…. _proposed!_ Well sort of….. but you said you want to _marry me_ someday!! _YOU_ want to marry _ME!_ I never thought I’d _ever_ get married, I mean I’ve always wanted too, but no one has ever said they wanted to marry _ME!_ I was prepared to spend the rest of my life alone and then you show up and throw my whole world into some kind of amazing…… I don’t even know…. and it’s just happening _so_ fast, we’ve only known each other for _six months_ and you bring up marriage and-and-and kids and I’m still trying to get used to the fact that someone like you could even want someone like me! And I….. I just…. I……I….. ’

Tom wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, hugging her tightly against his chest. Lizzy slowly wrapped her arms around him and buried her face against his neck

‘I’m sorry Liz, I didn’t meant to go so fast’ Tom whispered as he ran his hands over her back, trying to soothe her ‘I just wanted you to know how much I love you and that I _do_ want a future with you’

Tom pulled back and cupped her face, wiping her cheek with his thumb before moving his hands to grasp hers, ‘And I hope you want one with me’

‘Of course I want a future with you, Tom’ she said with a smile as she looked up into his eyes, they also had tears in them ‘It’s just….. I guess it scared me because we haven’t actually sat down and… and _talked_ about it, you know? And this is all so new to me, not just the premiere, and getting used to being in a relationship with someone famous, but meeting your family, you meeting mine’

‘You’ve never met any of your boyfriend’s families before?’

‘I knew my first boyfriends family because we were still in high school when we started dating and our parents took turns driving us to the movies and stuff since neither of us could drive. And I’ve dated a few guys casually, just for a few weeks or so, so it never got serious enough to warrant meeting them’ Lizzy explained as she entwined her fingers with his, staring at them as she did ‘I met my last boyfriends family, but they were’t really close so it was only a couple times.. We were together for almost 2 and a half years and we had briefly talked about marriage and stuff, and I thought he was going to propose a few months later when we were out a this really nice restaurant, but…….’

‘But?’

‘But, when the meal ended, instead of proposing like I _thought_ he was going to he told me that he didn’t want to see me anymore. That when we were talking about marriage and kids he said he did see them in his future, just…. not with me’ Lizzy wiped her face and let out a sigh ‘He also told me that he had met someone else and had been seeing her for almost 7 months.’

‘I’m _so sorry_ darling’ Tom whispered as he placed a gentle kiss to her hand

‘I didn’t even notice that he had left until the server tapped me on the shoulder and told me that they had to close up, I looked around and the restaurant was empty. I took a cab home and when I got there he had already collected all his stuff and left the key, along with a note’

‘What did the note say?’

‘Just one word ‘ _Sorry,_ ’ after that I just kind of shut off. I called off work for a week, I didn’t go anywhere, I didn’t talk to anyone for days, not even Iris’ Lizzy wiped her face and let out took in a deep breath ‘I _know_ it’s stupid, but when you say things about us getting married and having kids I just can’t help but think that….’

‘That I might do the same?’

‘Like I said, I know it’s stupid. I _know_ you’re not that kind of man, but once you’ve been hurt like that it’s kind of hard to believe it won’t happen again’

Tom moved and kneeled in front of her, taking her face in his hands and resting his forehead against hers

‘I know, and I promise that I will _never_ hurt you like that’ Tom whispered. Lizzy smiled and placed her hands on his arms, slowly running them up to his shoulders and pulled him into a hug

‘I know. And I’ll never hurt you either’ she whispered against his neck.

The pair spent the rest of the night holding each other, talking about their future together, and making love.

_**  
*New Year’s Eve*** _

‘Are you just about ready darling?’ Tom called up the stairs

‘Yeah. Ready!’ Lizzy replied as she came from the room and headed down to him

‘You look great!’

‘Thank you. You don’t look half bad yourself Sir’ Lizzy replied as she gave him a kiss

Tom grabbed Lizzie’s coat and helped her into it before the two headed out the door. 45 minutes later Tom pulled up in front of the hotel and they headed in as the valet took care of his car. They checked their coats and walked into the party, being held by Tom’s agency, Tom wrapped his hand around hers and brought it to his lips, placing a gentle kiss to her knuckles.

‘Love you’

‘Love you too’ Lizzy whispered back

‘Tom! There you are!’ a man said as he approached, he had on one of those silly cardboard top hats that had Happy New Year written on it in gold glitter, and a couple flutes of champagne ‘I was beginning to think you weren’t coming!’

‘Sorry Chris, traffic was a nightmare’ Tom replied as the man handed one of the flutes to Tom and the other to Lizzy   
  
‘It’s all good. And who might this lovely lady be?’

‘Oh! Sorry. Christian, this is my girlfriend, Miss Elizabeth Walker. Liz, Christian Hodell, my agent’

‘It’s nice to meet you Mr. Hodell’ Lizzy said as she shook his hand

‘Call me Chris, and it’s a pleasure to meet you too’

_‘Christian!’_ someone called from behind him

‘I better go. You two have fun! T-minus 3 hours till the new year!!’

Tom and Lizzy sipped their champagne as they made their way through the crowd looking for a place to sit they finally found a couple seats at a table near the back of the room, right next to the huge 10 foot floor to ceiling window that overlooked the city

‘Oh Tom, the city looks amazing from here!’

‘Hmmm…… What city? All I see is the beauty seated beside me’

Lizzy smiled and playfully swatted at his arm but Tom was able to grab it before she made contact and pulled her over to him and pressed his lips to hers. When their lips parted he asked her if she would like to dance, Lizzy nodded and they headed for the dance floor. They spent the next few hours dancing and mingling with Tom’s friends. About 30 minutes before midnight Tom disappeared for a little while and when he came back he had their coats with him

‘Come with me’ he said as he held out his hand to her

‘We’re leaving? _Now?!’_

‘Just come with me’

Lizzy stood and took his hand, as they made their way to the door Tom handed Lizzy her coat and she slipped it on. Once out of the banquet room she turned toward the bank of elevators

‘This way’ Tom said as he walked the other direction, toward the stairs. Lizzy turned and followed as he made it to the door and pushed it open ‘after you my dear!’

‘Tom, where are we going?’

Tom didn’t answer, he just pointed up the stairs and Lizzy started up them. They went up to three floors and through another door, Tom led her down the corridor until they reached yet another door

‘Tom, seriously….. Where are we going?’

‘Just through here’ Tom replied as he reached for the doors handle ‘Now button up, it’s cold’

Tom pushed the door open just as she fastened the last button on her coat and was greeted by a blast of cold air. Tom grabbed her hand and led her further out onto the balcony and glanced down at his watch

‘C’mon, it’s almost midnight’ Tom walked over to a small table that had a bottle of champagne and two glasses sitting on it, he opened the bottle and poured them each a glass, he handed one to Lizzy and walked over to the railing. Lizzy smiled and walked over, stood beside him, and looked out at the city. From where they were at they could see the London Eye, Big Ben, and much more.

‘This is _amazing!_ ’

‘Thought you’d like it’ Tom replied as he placed a kiss to the side of her head

Down below dozens of people were lined up, waiting for midnight, after a few minutes they could hear them all start counting down

_‘10…. 9…. 8…. 7…. 6…. 5…. 4…. 3…. 2…. 1! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!’_

‘Happy New Year Liz! The first of many more to come!’ Tom whispered as he lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers ‘I love you’

‘I love you too’

The two sipped their champagne as they watched the fireworks shooting off Big Ben and the London Eye and listened to all the cheering and merriment below them

‘Tom, this is amazing and beautiful and I’m very grateful for you bringing me up here to watch this’ Lizzy said as she lifted her head ‘but can we go in now, I’m _freezing_!’

‘Yes, of course darling’ he replied as he placed a kiss to the top of her head before taking her hand heading back toward the door ‘How about we go back downstairs for a few minutes to say some good-byes and then we can head home and _warm up_ ’

‘Sounds like a great way to start the New Year’ she replied as they started down the stairs

‘Oh! Before I forget, I have something for you’ Tom said as he stopped on a stair and reached into his pocket, he pulled out an envelope and handed it to Lizzy. She opened it and pulled out a greeting card that had a drawing of an airplane flying through the clouds on the front, when she opened it there was a plane ticket inside

‘What is this for?’

‘This is an open ticket, it’s good for the entire length of my next movie. All you have to do is pick the days you want to come visit and get on the plane’

Tom, this is…. Too much. I can’t accept this’

‘No it isn’t, and yes you can!’ Tom replied ‘I think it would be a lot of fun for you to come visit the set’

‘But Tom, I….’  
  
‘No _‘buts’_ please just accept it and once you figure out when you can make it call me so I can make arrangements to have you picked up at the airport, okay?’

Lizzy took in a deep breath, bit her bottom lip and nodded her head in agreement. Tom wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly before they made their way back down to say good night to everyone before headed back to Tom’s house.

4 days later they sat in the first class lounge waiting for her flight to begin boarding. Over the years Tom had made friends with countless employees at the airport and they allowed him to stay with Lizzy while she waited. They had already called for first class and general boarding, but they were waiting as long as they could before she actually got on the plane

‘I wish you didn’t have to go’ Tom said softly as he ran his fingers over the palm of her hand

‘Me either’

‘Stay’

‘I wish I could, but I have to get back to work’ she said as she entwined her fingers with his and brought his hand to her lips

‘You weren’t here long enough’

‘I was here for 2 weeks’

‘Not long enough’ he whispered

‘Well, maybe next time I’ll stay longer’ Lizzy said with a giggle as he started kissing her neck

‘Is that a promise?’

‘Just tell me how long you’d like me to stay and I’ll see what I can do’

‘Hmmm….. lets see?’ Tom said as he lifted his hand and tapped his chin in thought, for dramatic effect of course, ‘How about….. Forever?’

‘Ha-Ha, very funny’

‘I’m serious. I would love it if you moved here with me’

_‘Attention Passengers this is the final boarding call for flight 404 with nonstop service to Seattle, please make your way to the gate. Thank you’_

Tom stood and grabbed Lizzie’s carry-on and took her hand as they walked toward the gate

‘You don’t have to decide anything right now. I just wanted you to know that I would _love_ to have you live here with me. I love waking up with you in my arms’ he said as he handed her her bag and they stood at the gate

‘I’d love that too. And I _will_ think about it, I promise’

‘Call me when you get home so I know you’re safe, no matter the time’ Tom said as he gave her one last kiss

‘I will. I love you’

‘Love you too’

Lizzy turned and headed down the jet way and took her seat, within minutes she felt the plane pushing away from the terminal and making its way to the runway for takeoff. Once they were at cruising altitude she pulled out the iPad Tom gave her and started thumbing through all the pictures they had taken while she was there and she started to miss him already. She was suddenly very happy that he had given her the open ticket so she could see him again soon.


	14. **2 Years**

In the 18 months since Lizzy spent Christmas and New Years with Tom a lot had happened. She wanted to surprise him for his birthday, the way he had for hers, but was unable to get anymore time off work. They did video chat and she had the gifts she got him delivered to him, and with the help of his personal assistant also some flowers, balloons, and a cake from his favorite bakery’

In the middle April Lizzy went to visit him on the set of his movie and was there for a little over a week, watching him work and just spending time together. It was the first time they had seen each other in person since she left London in January. They tried to speak every day and most days where able to, and every time they did Tom always brought up her moving to London. Lizzy gave the same answer she always did, that she would think about it.

In June they were unable to spend their first anniversary together due to Tom’s schedule, he had another project that was set to start not long after his movie wrapped, but he did come for a quick visit for a few days in between the two. While they were together Tom again brought up the possibility of her moving to London, anytime he brought it up Lizzy usually just tried to change the subject or joked that he should move to Seattle.

When her birthday rolled around Tom was again working and unable to come visit her, but she was okay with it since she hadn’t been able to visit him for his. The morning of her birthday she was woken up by the doorbell, Tom had 2 dozen of her favorite flowers delivered to her front door, along with a gift, beautiful negligee that had a note pinned to it

_‘Next time we’re together I want you wearing this….. and only this!’_

And the next time they were together, for Christmas in Seattle, she was wearing just that. Tom stayed through the first week of the New Year before he had to get back to the set of his movie. 

For Tom’s birthday she was able to get the time off work and flew to London to surprise him, his assistant helped her again, picking her up from the airport when she arrived the day before his birthday and driving her to the hotel she would spend the night in. The next day his assistant picked her up and drove her to his house while he was out for the day with his Mom. They hurried and set everything up, and when he arrived back home he was greeted with a surprise party. As happy as he was for the party, he was even happier to see Lizzy standing in his living room, he made a bee line for her and crashed his lips against hers. She was even able to stay through Valentine’s day, the first they had ever spent together.

Not long after returning from London Lizzy unfortunately lost her job, the company she worked for was bought out by a larger corporation and almost everyone that had been there less than 10 years was laid off, and she was having trouble finding a new one. She didn’t tell Tom right away because she knew what he would say, and she was right, one of the first things he said when she finally told him almost month later was that it was a sign that she should move to London with him and after days of calling and texting her with reasons why she should, Lizzy agreed. But _not_ until Tom promised to help her find a job there before she arrived so she could still make payments on the mortgage on her house. Tom offered to help her out with the payments but she didn’t want him paying her debts, the job Tom helped her find was at an Ad Agency run by a friend of Lukes.

5 weeks before their second anniversary Lizzy officially moved to London.

‘I can’t believe you’re finally here, and not just for a visit,’ Tom whispered to her her first night there as they were lying in bed, his chest pressed against her back and his arms wrapped around her 'that I get to wake up next to you every morning’

'You’ll get tired of it eventually’ Lizzy replied as she ran her fingers lightly over his arms

Tom’s grip tightened around her and he buried his face against her neck, 'I will never get tired of this’

Lizzy giggled and rested her arms over his, hugging them to her. They soon fell asleep and when they woke they were still holding each other, although they had moved a bit. Tom was lying on his back with one hand behind his head and the other still wrapped around Lizzy and she had her cheek resting on his chest with her arm draped over his stomach. She looked up at his sleeping face and smiled, she would never get tired of this either.

‘If you’re not going to go back to sleep you could at least make coffee’ Tom whispered, his eyes were still closed and he was trying not to smile

‘No. I don’t want to get up’ Lizzy replied as she snuggled against him again ‘I want to stay like this forever’

Tom wrapped his arms around her again, gave her a squeeze and placed a kiss to the top of her head ‘So do I. Unfortunately my bladder doesn’t share the sentiment’

Lizzy giggled and sat up and Tom headed for the bathroom, she stood and slipped her feet into her slippers before making her way down to the kitchen to start some coffee. Over the next couple weeks they settled into a routine of whoever woke first made the coffee, Tom _rarely_ woke first.

When the day of their 2nd anniversary came around Lizzy got up early and made Tom his favorite breakfast, he had already showered and dressed before he came down and once they were finished eating Tom told her he had a surprise for her. Lizzy went upstairs to take a quick shower and get dressed and when she came back down Tom was standing by the front door with two small suitcases beside him

‘Um….. Are we going somewhere?’

‘Do you remember the morning after we first……’ Tom said as he wiggled his eyebrows at her ‘I said we should hop on the train, head down to Brighton?’

‘I think I remember you mention something like that’ Lizzy replied as she walked up to him ‘I think I also remember you mentioning something about walking along the beach, checking into a bed and breakfast, and not having breakfast!’

Tom took a step forward and wrapped his arms around her, ‘Well, I have made us reservations at a lovely little B&B just a stone’s throw from the beach’

'Really?!’

'Really’ Tom replied before placing a kiss to her forehead. He then took a step back and reached down to pick up their bags ‘Come on, train leaves in an hour’

Within a few hours they were checking into the B&B and then headed out to find a nice place for dinner.

They spent the next couple days walking around the town, seeing the sights and acting like children as they rode some of the rides on the pier. One evening Lizzy and Tom walked along the beach hand in hand as the setting sun painted the sky with beautiful shades of pink and orange. Lizzy rested her head on Tom’s arm and squeezed his hand tightly

‘Thank you’ she whispered

‘For what?’

‘For this trip. For loving me. For… everything’

‘You’re welcome’ Tom replied with a soft laugh as he placed a kiss to her head ‘but you don’t have to thank me. In fact I should be the one thanking you’

‘Thanking me? For what?’

Tom stopped walking and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly against his chest, ‘For the great privilege of your love and making me happier than I think I have ever been’

As the two stood there Tom’s phone rang again, someone had been calling him every half hour or so since they sat down at dinner, but he always just let it go to voicemail.

Soon they heard music coming from the pier nearby and Tom started swaying slightly and humming along to the song. He ran his hands up and down her back slowly as he started softly singing along with the music

_‘You’re just too good to be true, can’t take my eyes off of you_  
You’d be like heaven to touch, oh, I wanna hold you so much  
At long last love has arrived and I thank God I’m alive  
You’re just too good to be true, I can’t take my eyes off of you!’

Lizzy smiled, closed her eyes, and rested her cheek against his chest, she could feel tears welling up in her eyes.

_'Pardon the way that I stare, there’s nothing else to compare_  
The thought of you leaves me weak, there are no words left to speak  
But if you feel like I feel, oh, then let me know that it’s real  
You’re just too good to be true, can’t take my eyes off of you!’

She tried to stop the tears from escaping her eyes but she couldn’t and soon felt them rolling down her cheeks, she hoped that Tom wouldn’t notice and so far he hadn’t. He just kept singing along softly,

_‘I love you, baby and if it’s quite all right_  
I need you baby, to warm a lonely night  
I love you baby, trust in me when I say.

_Oh, pretty baby, don’t bring me down I pray_  
Oh, pretty baby, now that I’ve found you stay  
And let me love you baby, let me love you’

As he finished that last verse he brought his hands up to cupped her face and leaned down to give her a kiss, and noticed the tears streaking her face

'Sweetheart, what’s wrong’

Lizzy didn’t answer, she just bit her bottom lip and shook her head

'Lizzy, please look at me and tell me what’s wrong’

'I can’t’ she finally whispered

'Why not?’

'Because….. if I open my eyes, I’ll wake up’ she replied with a sniffle 'and if I wake up you’ll be gone and I’ll have never held you, or kissed you, or loved you. I’ll be back in my hotel room and this…… everything…… will start to fade away and just be some memory of an amazing dream I once had’

'Liz, you’re not making any sense darling, but I promise you you’re awake and when you open your eyes I’m still going to be here’ Tom said as he wiped the tears from her face with his thumbs.

Lizzy took in a deep breath, trying to mentally prepare herself to wake up alone in her hotel room, staring up at the ceiling, and slowly opened her eyes. When she saw Tom’s happy, smiling face in front of her she couldn’t help but smile as well.

'See. I’m still here’

Lizzy brought her hands up and placed them over Tom’s as he continued to stroke her cheeks, she gave them a gentle squeeze before turning her head and kissing the palm of his hand

'I love you Tom, but I don’t think I’m ever going to dance with you again’

'Why?’

'Because almost every time I do I end up crying’

Tom laughed and wrapped his arms around her again, hugging her tightly and kissing her temple

'Well, maybe we won’t slow dance for a while. You do fine when we’re just spazzing out and dancing like fools’

Lizzy giggled and stroked the back of his neck, ‘I love you’

‘I love you too, Liz. So much!!’

The following morning when Lizzy woke Tom wasn’t in bed with her, she turned and saw him out on the balcony, his phone to his ear. She climbed out of bed and padded toward the bathroom. When she came out he was still outside and she walked over to the door to join him, he was looking out over the water as she walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, she placed a soft kiss between his shoulder blades before resting her cheek against his bare back, his skin already warm from the morning sun. Tom rested his free hand over hers, giving it a gentle squeeze

‘Yeah…… Sounds good…….. Alright, I’ll call you when we get back into London tomorrow afternoon….. Yeah, Cheers’ Tom ended the call, slipped his phone into his pocket, and turned in Lizzie’s arms to face her, giving her a kiss

‘Good morning my love’

‘Good morning to you too!’ Lizzy replied with a smile ‘who was on the phone?’

‘Christian’ Tom replied as he leaned back against the railing ‘he was the one ringing me so much last night’

‘Is everything okay?’

‘Yeah, everything’s fine. He just needed to let me know that Louis called him yesterday and said that they need to move up filming’

‘Why?’

‘My costar just found out she’s pregnant and Louis wants to try to get in as many of her scenes as possible before she gets too far along’

‘Oh….. When will you start?’

‘Next week’

Lizzy was saddened at the thought of him leaving so soon after her moving to London, but she also knew it was unavoidable given his line of work.

'I wish you didn’t have to go’ she whispered as she ran her fingertips over his chest 'but we knew it would happen sooner or later’

'I was hoping for later’ Tom replied as he brought a hand up and tucked some hair behind her ear 'you’ve only just arrived and I hate the thought of leaving you alone already. I still need to show you around a bit more, help you get used to the tube and buses since you refuse to use my car’

'It’s not that I refuse to use your car, it’s more of I can’t. I don’t know how to drive a stick shift, so I think your transmission would be happier if I don’t drive it’

'See, another thing I need to do, teach you to drive a manual’ Tom said as they headed back inside.

'Yeah, that’s not going to happen. My dad tired numerous times with _no_ success’

'We’ll see about that’

'In your dreams buddy!’ Lizzy said with a giggle as she sat down on the bed.

'Speaking of dreams….’ Tom said as he laid on his side on the bed beside her, ‘what did you mean last night?’

'What?’

'Last night when we were on the beach you said you couldn’t open your eyes because you would wake up and I would be gone’

‘Oh, that. It was nothing’

‘It had to be something. You seemed really upset’ Tom took her hand and brought it to his lips, placing a soft kiss to her knuckles and looked up at her with sad eyes ‘Please tell me’

_*damn… not the puppy eyes!*_ she thought to herself

'Okay…… but you’re going to think it’s stupid’

'Never’

Lizzy took in a breath before she began

'Do you….. remember the night you came to my hotel to ask me out?’

Tom nodded _yes_

'Well, the next morning when I woke up I was absolutely convinced that it was all just a dream and I went on with my day. I went out to breakfast, and did some shopping, I even told Iris about my ‘dream’. Ever since then, a _tiny_ piece of me thinks that I’m still asleep and that any second I’m going to wake up back in that hotel room.’ Lizzy said as she looked down at his hand, running her finger tips along the prominent veins ‘Or worse, back in my house in Seattle. I’ll have never even gone to London, never have met you, never kissed you, or held you, or watched your eyes flutter as you slept. That I’m still….. _alone_ ….  and that I always will be’

Tom sat up and placed a hand on her cheek, stroking it with his thumb

'You’re not going to wake up back in that room or at your house, and I’m not going to suddenly disappear. You _are_ awake Lizzy, I promise’

Tom leaned forward and kissed her deeply before resting his forehead against hers. He brought the hand she hand been stroking up and placed it on his chest, she could feel his heart pounding

‘Feel that?  _You_ do that to me. Every time I see you, touch you, kiss you…. you make my heart race’ he whispered as he lifted his head and looked into her eyes ‘This is _real_ Liz, you’re not asleep. Okay?’

Lizzy smiled and nodded her head as Tom placed his hand on her leg, softly running his fingertips over her skin

‘If you ever think you’re asleep just remember this…..’ Tom said before slipping his hand up and resting it on her hip

‘Remember what?’ Lizzy whispered and no sooner then she asked Tom’s hand moved again and pinched her ass ‘ _OW!_ That hurt!! Why did you do that!!??’

‘Eheheh….. Sorry love, just wanted to prove to you that you _ARE_ awake!’

‘Jerk!’ Lizzy said as she playfully swatted his hands away from her ‘I hate you!’

Tom grabbed her wrists and pulled her close, kissing her again

‘You love me and you know it!’ Tom said as he stood ‘Now come on, let’s get dressed and go enjoy our last day here!’

Tom and Lizzy dressed and went to breakfast before wandering around the town, popping into shops and taking dozens of pictures. At the end of the day they sat outside a small restaurant, sipping some wine and sharing a piece of cake. Lizzy looked out at the setting sun and let out a deep sigh, a smile on her lips

‘Penny for your thoughts?’ Tom whispered

‘I was just thinking that this has probably been the second best trip that I have ever been on’

‘Second best? What could possibly be better than this?!’ Tom asked as he motioned out over the water, Lizzy looked out at the sun as it began to set and smiled

‘Well, two years ago I took a long awaited trip to a little place called London, perhaps you’ve heard of it, and while I was there I happened to have met the most amazing person I could ever hope to meet’ Lizzy looked back over at Tom and smiled ‘and he has made the last two years the happiest of my life! That was the best trip ever’

Tom smiled and gave Lizzie’s hand a squeeze, ‘I love you Liz’

‘I love you too. And I know I’ve said it before but, thank you for everything!’

They finished up and headed back to the B&B, the next morning they would head back to London and Tom would start getting ready to leave for his movie. Lizzy was nervous about already being alone in a city she had only visited twice but was now calling her home, but was also excited for what the future held for her and Tom.


	15. **For Everything**

The next year seemed to fly by in the blink of an eye and before they knew it Lizzy and Tom’s third anniversary was fast approaching. Lizzy sat on the floor of their bedroom putting the final touches on her gift to him just as she heard him come through the front door. She quickly gathered everything in front of her and shoved it all back in the bag and placed it in the closet before heading down to greet him.

‘Hi sweetie!’ she said as she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss

‘Hello Darling! How was your day’ Tom said as he set his bag down hung his keys on the hook by the door

‘Pretty good, how was yours?’

‘It was okay, we’re having trouble with one scene though. We must have shot it at least 2 dozen times and nothing feels right’ he said as they walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator ‘Hopefully we’ll get it tomorrow’

‘What if you don’t?’ Lizzy asked as she stood in the kitchen doorway

‘Then they’ll just have to wait until next week, there is _no way_ I’m cancelling this weekend!’

‘Good! Because I think….. _hope_ …. You’ll really like your gift’

Tom walked over and wrapped his arms around her, placing a kiss to her forehead

‘If it’s from you I already love it!’

Lizzy wrapped her arms around Tom’s waist, slipping her hands under his shirt and running her fingertips over his skin, she then started kissing his neck, enjoying the taste of his salty skin

‘Mmmm….. that feels good’ Tom whispered as her hands moved further up his back, Lizzy lifted her head and Tom pressed his lips against her, pushing her against the wall as his lips moved down to her neck. Just as Lizzy moved her hands around to the closure on his jeans, his stomach let out a very loud rumble and Lizzy couldn’t help but giggle

‘Did you skip lunch again?’

‘Um… maybe?’ Tom whispered as he lifted his head

‘Tom. You have to stop doing that!’

‘I’ll eat something after we’ve….. had a little fun’

‘No, you’ll eat something _now_ ’ Lizzy said as she slipped out of his grip and walked toward the refrigerator ‘you’ll need your strength for what I have planned for you!’

Three days later it was Lizzy and Tom’s third anniversary and Lizzy woke to Tom in the kitchen making them a wonderful breakfast. After they finished they spent the entire day doing things they had done together when they first met.

First Tom took her on the Thames River tour and then over to the London eye and a few more places they had gone the first time she visited London, and for dinner Tom took her to the restaurant they went to on their first date.

‘This was an _amazing_ day Tom’ Lizzy said as she reached across the table and gave his hand a squeeze ‘Thank you _so_ much’

‘You’re more than welcome my love’ Tom said as he brought her hand to his lips and gave it a kiss.

When they left the restaurant Tom suggested they walk for a bit, just as he did the night of their first date, before heading home. Lizzy smiled and took his hand as they started walking down the familiar tree lined streets, talking and laughing. After a little bit Tom came to a stop,

‘Well, Miss Walker, I had a lovely time tonight’ Tom said as he stood in front of her ‘May I escort you up to your room?’

Lizzy looked up at Tom, she was puzzled but he looked as though he was about to laugh. She followed his gaze and looked over her shoulder and was surprised to see the hotel she had stayed at during her trip behind her, she hadn’t even realized their walk had brought them here

‘Tom, what are we doing here?’

‘May I escort you to your room?’ he asked again, offering his arm to her

‘Um…. Yes, you may’ she replied with a giggle and took his arm.

Tom led her through the lobby toward the elevators, once inside Tom pressed the button for the top floor. When the doors opened Tom led Lizzy to a door at the end of the hall and opened it, letting Lizzy go in first

‘May I take your coat?’

She set her purse down on the entry way table and Tom helped her off with her coat, hanging it along with his in the closet. When she started looking around she couldn’t believe her eyes, it was so beautiful, there were candles and flowers everywhere, a bottle of champagne chilling in a bucket of ice and 2 glasses beside it. Lizzy could feel tears welling up in her eyes and when she turned back toward Tom he was holding a single red rose, he stepped forward and held the flower out to her. Lizzy took it from him as a tear rolled down her cheek, Tom brought his hand up and gently wiped it with his thumb before placing a gentle kiss to her lips

‘Happy anniversary, Darling’

‘Happy anniversary. I love you so much!’ Lizzy said as she threw her arms around his neck, and buried her face against his chest. Tom wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

‘I love you too. Would you like some champagne love?’

‘Um…. sure’

‘Have a seat and I’ll be right over’

Lizzy was about to sit down when she happened to glance out the window and saw the view, she loved seeing the city all lit up and twinkling. She was still looking out the window when Tom came over and handed her a glass.

‘Tom this is _amazing_ , but you didn’t have to go to all this trouble’

‘It’s no trouble at all, sweetheart’ he replied as he clinked his glass to hers

‘Well, you’ve set the bar pretty high for yourself Hiddleston. I expect nothing less in the future!’ Lizzy said with a giggle

‘Of course my love. Nothing but the best for you’

‘I’m just kidding Tom’

‘I know you are, love’ Tom said as he took a sip ‘But I’m not, only the best’

Lizzy just smiled and shook her head a little before setting her glass down on the table beside her and resting her head on Tom’s shoulder and wrapping her arms around his. After a few minutes Tom grasped Lizzie’s hand and led her back toward the couch and motioned for her to sit down.

‘Stay right there’ he said as he disappeared into the bedroom, coming back out with a beautifully box with a ribbon tied around it, he sat beside her and handed her the box   
  
‘Happy anniversary, my Love’

‘Thank you Tom, but I don’t feel right opening this since I don’t really have your gift here’ Lizzy said as she fidgeted with the bow

‘Don’t worry about that. You can give it to me when we get home. Now, open’

Lizzy pulled the ribbon and set it on the couch beside her and then lifted the lid off the box, setting it aside as well and glanced over at Tom, he a had a huge smile on his face. Lizzy picked up the tissue paper and gasped at was underneath, the box was filled with dozens of pink and red rose petals and tucked in the middle was a ring box. It was open and it contained the most beautiful diamond ring that she had ever seen.

Lizzie’s eyes filled with tears as Tom stood and lifted the box from her lap, he set it on the coffee table and took the ring in his hand before kneeling in front of her and looked into her eyes as tears started to streak her face

‘Three years ago I ran into a woman as she stepped up onto the curb outside, as bad as I felt about the whole thing at the time, it turned out to be one of the best things that has _ever_ happened to me. Over the next few days I got to know her and I learned she was sweet, and kind, and caring, and the more time I spent with her the more I could feel myself falling in love with her. She became my best friend, my lover, my heart, and the person I want to spend the rest of my life with’ Tom took her left hand in his and brought it to his lips placing a gentle kiss to her knuckles,  

‘Elizabeth Ann Walker, my darling, Will you marry me?’

Lizzy smiled and kissed him deeply before resting her forehead against his 

‘Yes’ she whispered ‘I would _love_ to marry you’

Tom kissed her back before slowly pulling away and taking her hand in his again, gently slipping the ring onto her finger. Lizzy looked down at her shaky hand and couldn’t believe that she was now engaged to most amazing person she had ever met

‘I love you Liz’ Tom said as he kissed her hand again before standing, pulling her up with him and wrapped his arms around her tightly and buried his face against her neck. The two stood in silence for a few minutes before Tom spoke again

‘You know what this means, don’t you?’ he whispered as he lifted his head

‘What?’

‘That you’re going to have to slow dance with me again, at our wedding,  even though you said you never would again’ Tom said with a soft chuckle

‘That’s okay. Because at least I know I won’t be the only one crying’ she replied as she brought her hand up and wiped tears from his cheek

Tom let out a laugh before kissing her again.

The following afternoon when they got home they sat on the couch and called Lizzie’s family back in Seattle to tell them the news, then they called Tom’s family. After everyone was told about the engagement Lizzy went up to their bedroom and got Tom’s gift from the closet

‘Here. Happy anniversary’ she said as she held it out to him

‘Thank you darling!’

Tom took the gift and Lizzy sat back down beside him as he slowly started to peel the paper off the package, then open the box within and take the album out

‘Oh! You put together a new scrapbook!’ Tom said happily as he opened the album, there was a card inside and he opened it and read what Lizzy had written to him

_‘My dear Thomas,_  
Meeting you was the greatest thing that has ever happened to me.   
I am thankful for every moment that we get to spend together.   
You are the love of my life and I couldn’t wish for a better father for our child.

_Thank you for giving me the greatest gift possible!_

_I love you with all my heart!  
Liz’_

Tom closed the card and looked over at Lizzy, she bit her lip and glanced down at the album and he flipped the first page. When he did he saw a trio of sonogram images arranged with cut outs of rattles, bottles, and baby carriages. Tom looked over at Lizzy, both of them had tears in their eyes

‘I…. um…. found last week. I know we didn’t plan this, we’re not married yet and until last nigh we weren’t even engaged, but I still hope you’re happy about it’

Tom set the album on the couch beside him as he stood and pulled Lizzy to her feet. He wrapped his arms around her and crashed his lips against hers, kissing her deeply as his grip tightened around her

‘Do you know how incredibly happy you’ve made me?’ Tom whispered when he pulled his lips from hers ‘Last night you accept my proposal to become my wife and today you tell me that I’m going to be a _father_. I don’t think I have ever been happier in my life!!’

‘Really?’ Lizzy whispered with a broken voice

‘ _Really_ my love’ he said as he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead

Lizzy rested her cheek against his chest and wrapped her arms around him.

_***7 months later*** _

‘Mrs. Hiddleston, we _can’t_ wait any longer!’ the nurse said

‘No!! _*groan*_ I’m not having this baby _*groan*_ until he gets here!!’

‘I’m afraid your baby would disagree. You need to start pushing!’

‘NO! _*groan*_ Not without To—-‘

Just then the door burst open and Tom came barreling in, still in his costume, complete with black wig

‘Did I miss it?’ he asked as he rushed to her side

‘Do you see a baby!?’ Lizzy snapped ‘What are you _*groan*_ wearing!?’

‘I was in the middle of filming when my sister called, I didn’t want to waste time changing!’

‘It’s a good thing you didn’t, because this baby wants out _now!_ ’ the doctor added ‘I really need you to push!’

The nurse handed Tom a gown to put on over his costume and after 30 minutes of pushing Lizzy and Tom’s baby came screaming into the world

‘Congratulations! It’s a….. Boy!’ the doctor announced as he held the crying baby up for them to see ‘Tom, would you like to cut the cord?’

Tom walked the foot of the bed, took the scissors from the nurse, and cut between the two clamps on his son’s cord, the doctor then placed the screaming baby on Lizzy’s chest and she wrapped her arms around him 

‘I love you so much Lizzy’ Tom said as tears streamed down his face and he placed a kiss to her lips

‘I love you too!’

After a few minutes the nurse took the baby to clean him up. Once he was clean and wrapped in a blanket the nurse brought him over and placed him back in Lizzie’s arms, 

‘Congratulations. Does this little guy have a name?’

‘Yes’ Lizzy replied as she looked down at her son ‘Thomas William Hiddleston Jr’

‘He’s so tiny’ Tom whispered as he picked up his son’s tiny hand and ran his thumb over his soft skin, ‘Can I hold him?’

Lizzy giggled, ‘Of course you can silly, he’s your son!’

Tom carefully lifted him from Lizzie’s arms and cradled him. He lowered his head and placed a kiss to his sons forehead

‘I love you Thomas’ he whispered

About 2 hours after Thomas Jr. was born there was a soft knock at the door to Lizzie’s room and Tom called for whoever it was to come in. Luke slowly came into the room carrying a duffle bag

‘I hope I’m not intruding on you two, well you three, but I brought your clothes from set so you could change out of that’ he said as he motioned to Tom’s costume

‘Thanks man, I appreciate it’ Tom said as he walked over and gave Luke a hug ‘Come on, I want you to meet our son’

‘He’s adorable. Congratulations!’ Luke said as he looked at the baby and smiled ‘Um…. also, there are a few people out in the waiting room that are wondering if they can come in?’

‘Who all is out there?’ Tom asked

‘Um…… Robert, Mark, Scarlett, Chris and Chris, Joss, and Clark’

Tom looked over at Lizzy, ‘Are you up for that many visitors?’

‘Sure’ Lizzy said with a smile. Luke headed out the door to gather everyone

‘Okay, I’m going to change, I’ll be right out’ Tom said as he grabbed the duffle Luke brought and headed into the bathroom

A few minutes later there was another knock at the door and Lizzy said to come in, as soon as she did the door opened and their friends came in carrying flowers, balloons, and stuffed animals. They all gathered around the bed to see the baby, soon Tom came from the bathroom to join them, giving them hugs and then introducing them to his son

**_*6 weeks later*_ **

Lizzy rolled over in bed but found an empty space beside her, she tiredly blinked her eyes open and glanced at the clock on Tom’s side of the bed, 2:42am, she then looked over at the door and saw a dim light coming from the hallway. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and padded down the hall towards the nursery.

When she got there she watched as Tom swayed slowly with their son, his whispy strawberry blonde curls peeking over Tom’s shoulder. He was running his hand gently over little Tom’s back and singing softly, barely above a whisper, and it took Lizzy a moment to decipher what he was singing, when she finally did she couldn’t help but smile

_‘Look for the bare necessities_  
The simple bare necessities   
Forget about your worries and your strife   
I mean the bare necessities   
Old Mother Nature’s recipes   
That brings the bare necessities of life

_Wherever I wander, wherever I roam,_  
I couldn’t be fonder of my big home.   
The bees are buzzin’ in the tree   
To make some honey just for me.   
When you look under the rocks and plants   
And take a glance at the fancy ants   
Then maybe try a few’

Tom kissed the side of his head and laid the sleeping baby down in his crib, he softly rubbed the baby’s stomach as he finished up the song

_'The bare necessities of life will come to you, They’ll come to you!’_

‘Goodnight my little bear cub’ he whispered

He turned to leave and saw Lizzy standing at the door and quietly walked over to her, he pulled the door shut slowly, but didn’t close it completely

'How long were you standing there?’

'Not long’ Lizzy replied 'I didn’t hear him through the monitor’

'I woke up to get a drink of water and heard him start to stir, so I turned it off, took him downstairs for a bottle, and then changed his nappy’ Tom said as they headed back to their room ‘I wanted to let you sleep, you always go when he wakes up at night’

‘Thank you, sweetheart’

Lizzy and Tom climbed back into bed and Lizzy rested her head against his shoulder and wrapped his arm around her

‘It’s my absolute pleasure, my love’ Tom whispered as he placed a kiss to her head

Lizzy placed a hand on Tom’s chest, feeling his warmth and the steady thump of his heart, as she started to drift back to sleep Tom ran his hand over her hair,

‘Have I told you how much I love you?’ Tom whispered softly

‘Once or twice’ Lizzy replied ‘have I told you that I fall in love with you more and more every day?’

‘Once or twice’

Tom brought his hand up and grasped the one she had resting on his chest and brought it to his lips, placing a kiss to her palm.

‘Good night, Tom. And thank you’

‘For what?’

‘For _everything_ ’

 


End file.
